The Las Vegas Aces won the 2022 WNBA Championship on Sunday, winning the best-of-five series against the Connecticut Sun, 3-1. It marks the first WNBA title in franchise history for the Aces.
On Her Turf provided live updates during Game 4. See below to relive how the decisive game at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, unfolded.
‘Proving myself right’: With Vegas, Becky Hammon finally won her title
2022 WNBA Finals - Game 4 Live Updates
Fourth quarter highlights:
10:00 Q4: It could all come down to this. The Aces, up 53-49, are 10 minutes away from their first WNBA title. But anyone counting out Connecticut hasn’t watched this team play this season.
7:01 Q4: DeWanna Bonner with a HUGE three-pointer. Connecticut still trails, but only by three (60-57).
6:25 Q4: And Brionna Jones makes it a one-point game. She’s three-for-three from the floor this afternoon.
6:05 Q4: And another huge three-pointer, this one from Kelsey Plum of the Las Vegas Aces.
3:46 Q4: DeWanna Bonner makes three free throws in a row after getting fouled by Kelsey Plum.
2:22 Q4: Courtney Williams puts the Sun into the lead, 69-67. Connecticut on an 8-0 run.
1:39 Q4: Riquna Williams of the Aces with two huge three-pointers, back-to-back. Las Vegas leads 73-71.
0:53: AND ANOTHER ONE FROM RIQUNA WILLIAMS (video embedded below). Williams, in her second season with the Aces, is having a huge impact in the final moments of this game. She averaged just 6.7 points per game during the regular season.
You so crazy Riquna this is tuffff
— WNBA (@WNBA) September 18, 2022
📺 @espn pic.twitter.com/nySzjKTFTi
0:48 4Q: OOF. Connecticut’s chances just got a whole lot tougher as DeWanna Bonner turns the ball over on an inbound. 2022 WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson just grabs the ball out of the air and makes it look easy.
0:18: The Connecticut Sun, normally so even keeled, looking very frantic in these final moments. You can feel their championship hopes slipping away.
0:00 Q4: THE LAS VEGAS ACES ARE THE 2022 WNBA CHAMPIONS. Final score: 78-71.
While digging into the archives the other day, I found this headline from a March 1999 edition of the Denver Post. Maybe, after all these years, people will finally stop underestimating Becky Hammon.
March 9, 1999. From the @denverpost archives.
— Alex Azzi (@ByAlexAzzi) September 15, 2022
Two months after this headline, @BeckyHammon would go undrafted in the 1999 #WNBA draft.@OnHerTurf | #WNBAFinals pic.twitter.com/X2z8ZMcNIr
Third quarter highlights:
8:41 Q3: Back-to-back three-pointers. First from Chelsea Gray of the Aces... then Natisha Hiedeman of the Sun responds on the next play.
6:40 Q3: Does the second half already feel like a different game to anyone else? So much more offensive momentum than in the first half.
Every player for the @LVAces gets a touch on this possession 🙌
— WNBA (@WNBA) September 18, 2022
📺 @espn pic.twitter.com/sy3LYk0tHI
0:00 Q3: At the end of the third quarter, Las Vegas leads 53-49.
Halftime:
A couple key stats to keep in mind...
- Both teams with a lot of turnovers. Nine from Las Vegas, eight from the Connecticut Sun.
- Both teams also missing a lot of shots. The Aces finished the half with a field goal percentage of 33.3%, the Sun only slightly better (35.5%).
Second quarter highlights:
7:37 Q2: And the Aces aren’t letting the Sun get any momentum. 2022 WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson makes it 23-15.
6:50 Q2: And a double technical foul is assessed to the Sun’s Natisha Hiedeman and the Aces’ Kelsey Plum. Plum fouled Hiedeman, who responded with a shove.
5:28 Q2: Courtney Williams gets Connecticut back on the board, ending a run by the Aces (video below). She’s the only Sun player to score so far this quarter.
This @CourtMWilliams jumper ends a 9-0 Las Vegas run 👌
— WNBA (@WNBA) September 18, 2022
📺 @espn pic.twitter.com/HKHKZtMKvw
2:47 Q2: Jonquel Jones!! Great block, denying A’ja Wilson (video below). Jones, the 2021 WNBA MVP, has *checks notes* ZERO POINTS so far today?!
.@jus242 said get that outta here 🚫
— WNBA (@WNBA) September 18, 2022
📺 @espn pic.twitter.com/lANc2e9i2x
2:19 Q2: Scratch that! Jonquel Jones gets her first points of the game, earning a free throw along the way. Aces lead 25-20.
1:21 Q2: And the Sun are back in this thing! (How many times have we said that during this year’s WNBA Playoffs?? Too many to count.) DeWanna Bonner ties it up, 25-25.
0:00 Q2: At the end of the half, it’s a two-point game. Las Vegas leads 30-28.
First quarter highlights:
10:00 Q1: Quick refresher: After going 0-2 in Las Vegas, the Sun kept their championship hopes alive with a dominant performance at home on Thursday. Alyssa Thomas recorded the first ever triple-double in WNBA Finals history, scoring 16 points, 15 rebounds, and 11 assists.
9:30 Q1: The Connecticut Sun get on the board first thanks to DeWanna Bonner.
5:11 Q1: Chelsea Gray is doing her thing. She’s got five points so far, with the Aces leading 13-6. And then she runs into Sun coach Curt Miller, who is trying to call a timeout.
Quick refresher on Gray’s postseason dominance: she averaged 13.7 points per game during the regular season. During the WNBA Playoffs, though? 21.9 points per game.
2:41 1Q: Riquna Williams with a three-pointer (video below). The Las Vegas Aces on a 12-0 run, currently leading 16-6.
Splashhhh 🌊
— WNBA (@WNBA) September 18, 2022
📺 @espn pic.twitter.com/zFnCjqqehG
1:12 Q1: Ugh. DeWanna Bonner goes down. She’s getting checked out by medical staff as Connecticut takes a time out. On a replay, it appears she is elbowed in the stomach by Chelsea Gray.
0:46 Q1: And the Sun have turned it around. Alyssa Thomas cuts the Aces’ lead to four points (16-12).
Connecticut Sun vs. Las Vegas Aces -- What they’re saying:
Jonquel Jones on the Connecticut Sun’s mindset heading into game four of the WNBA Finals:
“The mindset is to make sure that we come out aggressively. We have to have that same energy, or even better than last game. They’re (Aces) going to give us their best shot. They don’t want it to go to five games, and we do. Both teams are going to be playing really hard basketball, really tough basketball and we have to make sure that we’re affecting the game in the ways we need to come up with a W.”
Courtney Williams on what the Connecticut Sun needs to do to win game four:
“Contain Chelsea Gray and A’ja (Wilson). I think they are the head of the snake over there and we have to do our best to try and contain them.”
Chelsea Gray on how the Aces are feeling heading into game four of the WNBA Finals:
“Confident in who we are. Knowing that we’re going to do better this time coming out, on both ends, make some adjustments and get right to it. And compete and try and win a title.”
Jackie Young on how it would feel to win the WNBA title on Sunday afternoon:
“It’s something that you dream of as a little girl, something you work for your whole life and I’m just excited for the opportunity. We have one more game to get the job done and it starts on the defensive end for us.”