Aces’ Becky Hammon drops mic on Game 4 officiating

The Las Vegas Aces had a golden opportunity to close out their semifinals series in the 2025 WNBA Playoffs against the Indiana Fever on Sunday, as they needed just a win to advance to the championship round. Instead, Las Vegas fumbled the chance, ending up with a 90-83 loss in Game 5 of the series at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indiana.

A big reason for the Fever’s success at their home court was the huge disparity of free throws in their favor. Indiana made 26 of its 34 tries from the charity stripe, while the Aces went just 8-for-11 from the foul line. Las Vegas was called for 24 fouls to just 17 for the Fever, who forced a winner-take-all Game 5 versus Becky Hammon’s Aces.

Hammon specifically pointed out the huge difference in free-throw opportunities during the postgame press conference.

“They shot 34 free throws, we shot 11,” Hammon said of the officiating (h/t Alexa Ross of CBS4 Indy).

Fever star forward Aliyah Boston bruised her way to a 24-point night, mainly banking on her ability to get to the free-throw line. She shot 7-for-15 from the field and 10-for-13 from the foul line. Meanwhile, Kelsey Mitchell led all Indiana scorers with 25 points on 9-for-20 shooting from the floor and 5-for-6 on her free throws.

Over the side of Las Vegas, only three players went to the free-throw line. Aces star A’ja Wilson paced all scorers in Game 5 with 31 points while shooting 3-for-6 from the charity stripe. Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young combined for five made free throws on as many attempts.

Indiana’s game plan was to challenge the Aces’ defense relentlessly, and it paid off.

“I think we were the aggressor,” Fever coach Stephanie White said following the game, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN). “And usually, when we’re the aggressive and move the ball, good things happen for us. We attacked. We played with a sense of urgency, we made the right reads and the right plays. The ball moved really well and we found the open player.”

The Aces will look to prevent a series collapse when they return home to Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas for Game 5 this coming Tuesday