The No. 2 seed Las Vegas Aces hosted the No. 7 Seattle Storm at Michelob ULTRA Arena for game one of the WNBA Playoffs. The Aces won their 17th consecutive game 102-77 on Sunday, Sept. 14.
The Aces put points on the board first. A’ja Wilson and NaLyssa Smith made back-to-back layups. Jewell Loyd tallied the first three-pointer for the team, extending their lead to 13-5. The Storm had five turnovers in the first five minutes of the quarter and an almost four-minute scoring drought. Wilson had no problem facing 6’6″ Seattle center Dominique Malonga as she recorded 8 points and one block in the first 10 minutes. Las Vegas led 22-12.
Seattle came alive at the beginning of the second quarter with a new strategy on offense: shoot early. The Aces didn’t allow the Storm to get too far with this method. Las Vegas continued to be a brick wall on defense, causing the Storm to have a three-minute scoring drought. Dana Evans and Jackie Young were working the arc. Young connected on two three-pointers, and Evans made one. Las Vegas led 45-25 going into halftime.
The energy from both teams was low going into the third quarter. It wasn’t until around five minutes into the quarter that the teams were exchanging shots on each possession. The Aces were hot behind the arc, making five three-pointers. Two of the five were made by Young. Seattle reached 20+ points in a quarter for the first time in the game, recording 27. The Aces also improved from the first half, making 31 points and leading 76-52.
Cheyenne Parker-Tyus got the fourth quarter started with a three and a layup for the Aces. Las Vegas racked up points from free throws. Coach Becky Hammon put Megan Gustafson, Kiah Stokes and Kierstan Bell in the game with just under five minutes left. Evans and Bell sank three-pointers to get the Aces over 100 points. Las Vegas beat the Storm 102-77.
Wilson recorded a game-high 29 points. Young followed with 18 points, including four made three-pointers. The Aces shot 50.7% from the field and 48.3% behind the arc.
Las Vegas travels to Seattle for game two of the three-game series on Tuesday, Sept. 16. The game starts at 6:30pm PT.
