LAS VEGAS — Elena Delle Donne scored 25 points, and the Washington Mystics earned a return trip to the WNBA Finals, outlasting the Las Vegas Aces, 94-90, to close out their semifinal series on Tuesday night.
The Mystics, who eliminated the Aces in four games, will host the Connecticut Sun in Game 1 of the finals on Sunday. Washington was swept by Seattle in last year’s finals.
Emma Meesseman bounced back from her dismal performance in Game 3, when she was held to 6 points, by scoring 22 for Washington. Kristi Toliver added 20 and Natasha Cloud chipped in 11.
Liz Cambage, who suggested the Mystics needed to “get in the weight room” to deal with her physical play, led the Aces with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Dearica Hamby had 18 points and 11 rebounds while Kelsey Plum scored 17.
Las Vegas built a 10-point lead midway through the second quarter, but the Mystics quickly turned things around. Toliver, Delle Donne, Cloud and Meesseman scored consecutive buckets to ignite a 16-4 run that closed the half and gave the Mystics a 45-43 lead at the break.
Washington carried its momentum into the second half when Toliver opened the quarter with a 3-pointer in front of the Aces bench and went on to score 10 of the Mystics’ first 15 points in the third.
Las Vegas wasn’t done, though, as it erased a seven-point deficit and closed the third quarter on a 15-7 run that included five points each from Plum and WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year Hamby and gave the Aces a 68-67 lead.
Delle Donne, the league’s M.V.P., and Meesseman took over in the fourth quarter. They scored 21 of Washington’s 26 points in the period to seal the win.
Hamby had a chance to tie the game with 3.4 seconds left but missed a 3-pointer from the corner.
