Wilson scores 31 and Aces win 3rd WNBA title in 4 seasons, beating Mercury 97-86 for 4-game sweep

PHOENIX (AP) — A'ja Wilson put in work in the paint, getting bucket after bucket despite multiple defenders draped all over her.

She got plenty of help from Chelsea Gray, Jewell Loyd and Dana Evans. The trio started raining 3s early in the second quarter.

The Las Vegas Aces — once again — were an offensive force in the WNBA Finals, and they were well on their way to their third championship in four seasons. They finished off a four-game sweep of the Phoenix Mercury with a 97-86 victory on Friday night.

“These guys are elite,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said.

Wilson had 31 points and nine rebounds while Gray and Jackie Young each scored 18 points. Five players scored in double figures.

The Aces made quick work of the league's first best-of-seven finals. They scored 54 points in the first half and averaged more than 90 points per game in the series.

Wilson came to the postgame news conference wearing giant ski goggles from a Champagne celebration in the locker room and carrying a pink tambourine, shaking it after answers she liked.

“This is a symbol of the joyfulness we have right now,” Wilson said, grinning. “I'm just so grateful to be with this bunch — and that's not the alcohol talking.”

Wilson — honored as the Finals MVP — led the way for the Aces despite a poor shooting night. The four-time regular-season MVP finished 7 of 21 from the field but made 17 of 19 free throws. Gray made four 3-pointers, including two in the fourth quarter to help turn back a final rally by the Mercury.

The Aces were presented the championship trophy by embattled WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, who was greeted with boos from the sizable contingent of Las Vegas fans who made the trip to Phoenix.

The Aces led 76-62 going into the fourth quarter, but the Mercury went on an 8-0 run that cut the deficit to 76-70 with 7:56 left. That was as close as they would get.

Kahleah Copper led the Mercury with 30 points, shooting 12 of 22 from the field. Alyssa Thomas had 17 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.

Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts was ejected in the third quarter after receiving two quick technical fouls from official Gina Cross. Tibbetts was arguing a foul call against Mercury guard Monique Akoa Makani, and he reacted in disbelief as he was escorted off the court.

DeWanna Bonner and Copper also got called for technical fouls in the fourth quarter.

The Aces never trailed in the series clincher, building a 30-21 lead by the end of the first quarter on 55% shooting. Loyd, Gray and Evans made three straight 3s early in the second quarter to put Las Vegas ahead by 19.

Las Vegas settled for a 54-38 halftime advantage. Wilson had 14 points before the break while Gray added 10.

Tibbetts said the Aces were a tough team to guard all series.

“Unbelievable team — they were just playing at an extremely high level,” Tibbetts said. “We put ourselves in position to have a chance in a couple games, but what a run they’ve been on. Hitting big shots after big shots.”

The Mercury were without forward Satou Sabally, who suffered a concussion near the end of Game 3. They suffered another injury blow on Friday when Thomas had to leave just before halftime after taking a hard hit to her right shoulder on a screen from Loyd.

Thomas returned for the second half but was hampered by the injury.

The Mercury enjoyed a deep playoff run under Tibbetts but couldn't find a way to slow down the Aces. Phoenix made it to the finals after beating the defending champion New York Liberty in the opening round and knocking off the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx in the semifinals.

Phoenix lost in the WNBA Finals for the second time in five years, falling to the Chicago Sky in 2021. The Mercury have won three championships, with the last coming in 2014.

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

Las Vegas Aces owner Mark Davis, center, holds up the championship trophy after defeating the Phoenix Mercury in Game 4 of the WNBA basketball finals, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson, center right, holds up her MVP trophy after Game 4 of the WNBA basketball finals against the Phoenix Mercury, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Las Vegas Aces guard Chelsea Gray (12) drives past Phoenix Mercury guard Lexi Held, left, during the first half of Game 4 of the WNBA basketball finals, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Phoenix Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts reacts after a foul call against the Las Vegas Aces during the first half of Game 4 of the WNBA basketball finals, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Phoenix Mercury forward DeWanna Bonner, right, fouls Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson, left, during the first half of Game 4 of the WNBA basketball finals, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson (22) reacts after scoring against the Phoenix Mercury during the first half of Game 4 of the WNBA basketball finals, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

VATICAN CITY (AP) — In his most substantial critique of U.S., Russian and other military incursions in sovereign countries, Pope Leo XIV on Friday denounced how nations were using force to assert their dominion worldwide, “completely undermining” peace and the post-World War II international legal order.

“War is back in vogue and a zeal for war is spreading,” Leo told ambassadors from around the world who represent their countries’ interests at the Holy See.

Leo didn’t name individual countries that have resorted to force in his lengthy speech, the bulk of which he delivered in English in a break from the Vatican’s traditional diplomatic protocol of Italian and French. But his speech came amid the backdrop of the recent U.S. military operation in Venezuela to remove Nicolás Maduro from power, Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine and other conflicts.

The occasion was the pope’s annual audience with the Vatican diplomatic corps, which traditionally amounts to his yearly foreign policy address.

In his first such encounter, history’s first U.S.-born pope delivered much more than the traditional roundup of global hotspots. In a speech that touched on threats to religious freedom and the Catholic Church’s opposition to abortion and surrogacy, Leo lamented how the United Nations and multilateralism as a whole were increasingly under threat.

“A diplomacy that promotes dialogue and seeks consensus among all parties is being replaced by a diplomacy based on force, by either individuals or groups of allies,” he said. “The principle established after the Second World War, which prohibited nations from using force to violate the borders of others, has been completely undermined.”

“Instead, peace is sought through weapons as a condition for asserting one’s own dominion. This gravely threatens the rule of law, which is the foundation of all peaceful civil coexistence,” he said.

Leo did refer explicitly to tensions in Venezuela, calling for a peaceful political solution that keeps in mind the “common good of the peoples and not the defense of partisan interests.”

The U.S. military seized Maduro, the Venezuelan leader, in a surprise nighttime raid. The Trump administration is now seeking to control Venezuela’s oil resources and its government. The U.S. government has insisted Maduro's capture was legal, saying drug cartels operating from Venezuela amounted to unlawful combatants and that the U.S. is now in an “armed conflict” with them.

Analysts and some world leaders have condemned the Venezuela mission, warning that Maduro’s ouster could pave the way for more military interventions and a further erosion of the global legal order.

On Ukraine, Leo repeated his appeal for an immediate ceasefire and urgently called for the international community “not to waver in its commitment to pursuing just and lasting solutions that will protect the most vulnerable and restore hope to the afflicted peoples.”

On Gaza, Leo repeated the Holy See’s call for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and insisted on the Palestinians’ right to live in Gaza and the West Bank “in their own land.”

In other comments, Leo said the persecution of Christians around the world was “one of the most widespread human rights crises today,” affecting one in seven Christians globally. He cited religiously motivated violence in Bangladesh, Nigeria, the Sahel, Mozambique and Syria but said religious discrimination was also present in Europe and the Americas.

There, Christians “are sometimes restricted in their ability to proclaim the truths of the Gospel for political or ideological reasons, especially when they defend the dignity of the weakest, the unborn, refugees and migrants, or promote the family.”

Leo repeated the church’s opposition to abortion and euthanasia and expressed “deep concern” about projects to provide cross-border access to mothers seeking abortion.

He also described surrogacy as a threat to life and dignity. “By transforming gestation into a negotiable service, this violates the dignity both of the child, who is reduced to a product, and of the mother, exploiting her body and the generative process, and distorting the original relational calling of the family,” he said.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Pope Leo XIV holds his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Leo XIV holds his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Leo XIV holds his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)