LAS VEGAS — During the fourth quarter of Saturday night’s thrilling Commissioner’s Cup contest between the Las Vegas Aces and the Minnesota Lynx, it was easy to squint and see a much higher stakes meeting between the two. Sure, whoever won would put themselves in the driver’s seat to represent the Western Conference in the Commissioner’s Cup Final.
Effectively though, it was a single basketball game. A single basketball game between a pair of opponents who ended the night 13/44ths of the way through their tour de force of the 2026 WNBA Season with identical 10-3 records. The collective reaction from all who watched through the final horn on the Aces’ eventual 100-97 victory could only be, ‘phew, I’ll take seven more of those in October please.’
As far as diagnosing the game as an instant classic, this game met all of the necessary criteria. It also provided a snapshot of how we may view these teams when they meet further down the line. There was A’ja Wilson doing A’ja Wilson things. There was Chelsea Gray continuing a historically hot streak from 3-point range. And there was, of course, the gallant comeback spurred by Olivia Miles, Minnesota’s sensational rookie who may have been playing sick, but totally unafraid.
“These are two really good teams,” Aces head coach Becky Hammon said in her postgame press conference. “We knew they were going to make a run, of course. They’re not going anywhere. They got a lot of experience. They’re a well-oiled machine too … I’m sure both me and Cheryl are going to be looking at the defensive end of the ball. She’s not happy giving up 100, I’m not happy giving up 97. At the end of the day it was probably fun to watch, but one of those games as a coach that probably drives you crazy.”
And on the rookie sensation who put up a new career-high 29 points, 12 of them coming in the fourth quarter:
“Olivia is just a different … she’s different,” Hammon said.
Playing through illness and on the defending champs’ home floor is one of the bigger challenges to be thrown Miles’ way through the first 13 games of her career. At times it showed: her career-high 29 points were accompanied by a career-high six turnovers. But she still found a way to access the phenomenal shot-making that’s made her the Rookie of the Year frontrunner and did it when the team needed it most.
“Kind of beating myself up for the turnovers,” Miles said after the game. “A lot of them were unforced, but I’m also giving myself grace. I’ve got to learn and this is my first time playing against them, feeling the pressure of the game, I’ll be better. Definitely going to take this one and learn from it. Take the good with the bad. It’s not always as bad as you think it is and it’s not always as good as you think it is, so kind of just staying level-headed through it.”
Miles’ 12 fourth quarter points came on 5-of-6 shooting from the field, her lone miss coming on a 3-point attempt with seven seconds on the clock and the Lynx trailing 98-97.
“We just played one of the best teams in the league,” Lynx head coach and president of basketball operations Cheryl Reeve said after the game. “We knew there would be some challenges and they would give us different looks. It probably took [Miles] a little while to find the space. She also wasn’t feeling great. She was battling through [illness] and appreciated that she found a way and made some really, really big plays.”
Listen now to The IX Sports Podcast and Women’s Sports Daily
We are excited to announce the launch of TWO new podcasts for all the women’s sports fans out there looking for a daily dose of women’s sports news and analysis. Stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or anywhere you listen to podcasts, and make sure to subscribe!
Prior to the game, Reeve mentioned the Aces’ knowledge of Minnesota’s defensive schemes thanks to the number of times the teams have faced off at a mutually high level over the past few seasons. “Hopefully we’ll have some fortitude and even through some of the more difficult times we’ll stick to our identity,” she said.
The Lynx struggled uncharacteristically in the first half, allowing Las Vegas 16 points on seven second-chance opportunities. The Aces lead the league in the category at 14.4 second-chance points per game.
By the time the Lynx flipped the switch in the second half, they were in a race against the clock as well as against the defending champs.
“I feel like we picked it up, the physical part and I think we dictated to them where we wanted to be at on the defensive end,” Natasha Howard, who had 22 points and nine rebounds, said after the game. “That’s how it was easy to get steals, stops, getting rebounds and pushing the ball. I give credit to Vegas too. They came out and threw the first punch, but we’ve got to be ready at all times.”
Given the incredible run Las Vegas went on to end last season after their embarrassing 53-point loss to the Lynx on their home floor, eyes all around the league would be focused on their first meeting in 2026. The scoring margin may be 50 points tighter, and there are almost twice as many games left to go, but if both coaching staffs can identify the areas to improve upon, as Hammon alluded to, this won’t be the only epic battle between the Aces and Lynx in 2026. Their next match comes in a nationally televised matinee in Minneapolis on Saturday, Aug. 8.
“It’s good to know as a team that we have that [ability to come back],” Miles said. “There’s going to be moments when our shots aren’t falling or we get off to a slow start. Having that ability to rally is important, because some teams will lay down. We didn’t lay down. We kept fighting, but it’s really finding that from the jump that we can improve on for sure.”
Controversial finish
The game was not without a key question regarding officiating, a common theme for much of the 2026 WNBA season so far.
After Minnesota took its first lead of the game at 94-93, Kayla McBride was whistled for a foul on Jewell Loyd as Loyd attempted a 3-point shot. The play occurred right in front of the Lynx bench and Reeve called for a challenge immediately after the whistle blew.
“We have a new rule that involves basically a follow-through,” Reeve said after the game. “It could be a steal at half-court, like we saw in the playoffs last year. It could be a shot and you have an extra effort to follow through, even if you [hit] the ball first. So we’re all well aware of what the new rules are and the interpretations, if you will. That contest by McBride, I don’t see how that, that’s what they told me they were applying was the follow-through rule, and it just simply was not.”
‘Rare Gems’ is out now!
Howard Megdal, founder and editor of The IX Basketball and The IX Sports, wrote this deeply reported book. “Rare Gems” follows four connected generations of women’s basketball pioneers, from Elvera “Peps” Neuman to Cheryl Reeve and from Lindsay Whalen to Sylvia Fowles and Paige Bueckers.
If you enjoy Megdal’s coverage of women’s basketball every Wednesday at The IX Sports, you will love “Rare Gems: How Four Generations of Women Paved the Way for the WNBA.”
Isaac Barnett, the head official addressed the review through a pool report following the game. The report asked: “Did the replay review at the 44.3 mark in the fourth quarter confirm a contact foul on Kayla McBride?”
“Last year, we introduced a new interpretation for secondary contact after the release on the shooter, to the hand, to the wrist, to the arm” Barnett said. “After review that was confirmed as Kayla McBride closes out on Jewell Loyd’s 3-point shot. After the release, she continues to push through her arm, which constitutes an illegal high five. So that secondary act constitutes that illegal high five.”
As the season grows longer, the list of officiating-related items to keep track of in this new era will only grow with it.
