The WNBA playoffs provided plenty of drama on Thursday night.
First, the Fever upset the Dream with the help of a last-second defensive stop that sent Indiana through to the semifinals. Not to be outdone, the nightcap between the Aces and Storm also delivered, with both teams battling until the final whistle.
While the Aces had led for most of the game, the Seattle stormed back in the fourth quarter and trailed by a single point on the final possession with a chance to win the game.
Erica Wheeler missed a go-ahead jumper with four seconds left, but Skylar Diggins pulled down the offensive rebound and passed to Gabby Williams on the baseline, who appeared to have possibly beaten the buzzer to get the shot out of her hands.
Did the ball go in? It was kind of hard to tell, because whoever was working the lights at the Michelob ULTRA Arena flipped a switch to cut to black and start the party.
THE ACES SURVIVE pic.twitter.com/5cGFzI5hXV
— Shabazz 💫 (@ShowCaseShabazz) September 19, 2025
Upon review, it is pretty clear that Williams was still touching the ball when the clock hit zero, so the shot would not have counted if it had gone in, but in the moment, the quick flip of the lights was a jarring blitz into Aces’ celebration before the result felt officially official.
It was a perplexing sequence, to say the least.
The Aces survived the Storm, but why did the lights turn off so fast 😭 pic.twitter.com/wKTdHpmWrO
— WNBA Got Game (@wnbagotgame) September 19, 2025
playing against the aces is so scary if you lose they turn the lights off on your last shot
— Matt Ellentuck (@mellentuck) September 19, 2025
It should be against league policy for Aces to turn the lights off like that at the buzzer. We have no idea what happened because of it.#wnba
— Trent Harvey (@TheTrentHarvey) September 19, 2025
That gabby Williams shot wouldn’t have counted but I’m crying thinking of a scenario where it did and aces turned lights out on their season
— Chris Williamson (@CWilliamson44) September 19, 2025
The Aces shut the lights off before they could tell whether that Storm shot went in, diabolical.
— Gobert Rhymes With Yogurt (@chewacow) September 19, 2025
It all worked out for the Aces this time, but man, if that shot was released a millisecond sooner and had just a bit more arc on it, Las Vegas might have accidentally been celebrating their own elimination from the postseason.
The Aces are now set to face off against the Fever in the WNBA semifinals. Whoever is working the lights might want to practice some meditation between now and tipoff.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as The Aces’ Arena Went Pitch Black While Potential Game-Winning Shot Was in the Air.
