Who do Aces play next in WNBA playoffs? Schedule hinges on Wings-Valkyries winner

The Aces know when they will begin the WNBA semifinals. Where they will play is still up in the air.

The No. 3-seeded Aces advanced with a 94-83 victory over the No. 6 Indiana Fever on Thursday at Michelob Ultra Arena, winning their first-round series 2-1. They will face the winner of Friday’s deciding Game 3 between the No. 2 Golden State Valkyries and No. 7 Dallas Wings.

Golden State and Dallas enter Friday’s game tied 1-1. The Valkyries won the opener 104-80 before the Wings forced a deciding game with a 108-100 overtime victory Wednesday. Game 3 is scheduled for 6 p.m. Pacific time Friday at Golden State and will be televised by ESPN2.

The result will determine not only the Aces’ opponent, but also which team has home-court advantage in the best-of-five semifinals.

The WNBA uses a 2-2-1 format for the semifinals. The higher seed hosts Games 1 and 2 and, if necessary, Game 5. The lower seed hosts Games 3 and 4, if a fourth game is necessary.

If Golden State wins

The No. 2 Valkyries would have home-court advantage over the No. 3 Aces.

That would send Las Vegas to Golden State for the first two games before the series moves to Las Vegas.

The schedule would be:

Game 1: Sunday, at Golden State

Game 2: Wednesday, at Golden State

Game 3: Friday, at Las Vegas

* Game 4: Oct. 11, at Las Vegas

* Game 5: Oct. 14, at Golden State

* — if necessary

If Dallas wins

A Dallas victory would flip home-court advantage to the Aces.

Because Las Vegas is the No. 3 seed and Dallas is No. 7, the Aces would host Games 1 and 2 and a potential Game 5. Games 3 and, if needed, 4 would be played in Dallas. The WNBA bracket confirms Las Vegas will play the Dallas-Golden State winner in the semifinals.

The schedule would be:

Game 1: Sunday, at Las Vegas

Game 2: Wednesday, at Las Vegas

Game 3: Friday, at Dallas

* Game 4: Oct. 11, at Dallas

* Game 5: Oct. 14, at Las Vegas

* — if necessary

What to expect

Either way, the Aces won’t have much recovery time.

They earned their semifinal berth Thursday behind 36 points and 10 rebounds from A’ja Wilson. Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray helped Las Vegas’ three stars combine for 77 points as the defending champions eliminated Indiana.

The other semifinal matchup is already set: The No. 4 Atlanta Dream will face the No. 8 New York Liberty after both teams swept their first-round series.

The semifinals begin Sunday with the winners advancing to the best-of-seven WNBA Finals, which are scheduled to begin Oct. 17.

This content was produced with the help of artificial intelligence and edited by Review-Journal staff.