Aces outlast Storm’s final push, 84-79
By Christan Braswell, edited by Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - The Storm couldn’t have asked for a better start against the back-to-back WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces, in this sixth game of a historic nine-game homestand. Averaging 44.2 points in the first half this season (2nd in WNBA), Seattle held Las Vegas to just 30 points at halftime. The Aces responded with a 54-point second-half performance, ultimately winning the third matchup of the season series, 84-79.
Shootaround pictures ahead of the Seattle Storm home loss to the Las Vegas Aces at Climate Pledge Arena on July 10th, 2024. (Photos by Kevin Ng)
Storm guard Jewell Loyd led the team in scoring with 28 points. Her backcourt partner Skylar Diggins-Smith added 16 points and eight assists. Forward Ezi Magbegor had 10 points and 10 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season. All-Star Nneka Ogwumike had a slow day in the office, finishing with nine points and eight rebounds.
The game gallery for the Seattle Storm home loss to the Las Vegas Aces on Wednesday, July 10th, 2024 at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photos by Kevin Ng)
Despite shooting 3-of-9 in the first half, WNBA MVP frontrunner A’ja Wilson nearly had a double-double early on, posting nine points and 11 rebounds. A performance beneath the standard she sets for herself, Wilson dropped 16 points in the second half, finishing with 24 points, 20 rebounds, and four blocks, giving her just the 21st “20-20” game in WNBA history.
“She’s a former MVP and is playing at an MVP caliber level. That within itself is a tall task. Our competitive nature, being physical with her and making it difficult. You’re not going to stop a player like that who’s in such a good groove. Maybe you hope that they have an off day, but you just wanna be in her space. She’s a different beast.”
Seattle followed the script to perfection to start the game. Hanging their hat on defense this season, only one Aces player shot over 34 percent from the floor at the half. With forward Jordan Horston and lead guard Skylar Diggins-Smith leading the perimeter attack, they switched early and often off each of the Aces’ three USA Olympic guards Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young, and Kelsey Plum.
Before joining her team in the locker room, Quinn was asked about her team’s defense faring against one of the most potent offenses in the league. Giving her group credit for doing all the little things, Quinn also said that the Aces were missing shots they usually make, and didn’t expect the trend to continue, which it didn’t.
A tale of two halves describes how the remaining 20 minutes played out. After Wilson took a shot to the face, Las Vegas rattled off an 18-6 run in response, equaling their halftime score with a 30-pt third quarter. Young wouldn’t be denied, nearly outscoring the Storm with 17 points in the period, finishing with 27.
Battling a scoring drought that lasted three minutes in the clutch, Loyd ended the dry spell with an elbow jumper, bringing the Storm’s deficit to four points with less than two minutes left in the game.
With less than ten seconds on the clock in a one-possession game, the Storm had two chances to tie the game. Ogwumike missed a wide-open three-pointer, but Horston corralled the offensive rebound and kicked it out to Loyd, whose pull-up from deep missed, essentially sealing the win for Las Vegas.
Storm play-by-play announcer Elise Woodward spoke on Loyd’s shot and how she’s made it before to win games and had no issue with the look. Considering Loyd has made a career out of tough, decisive shot-making to win games before, most would agree.
What’s next?
Following today’s home loss to the Las Vegas Aces, as they celebrated “Kids Day” at Climate Pledge Arena with a noon tipoff time, our Seattle Storm will begin to wind down their historic nine-game homestand when they play the eighth game of it on Friday. That July 12th matchup comes against the Minnesota Lynx, a team that the Storm have failed to beat so far this season across three competitions throughout the course of the 2024 WNBA campaign so far, with a tipoff time of 7PM PDT at Climate Pledge Arena that will be broadcast live on ION, KFAN FM / Lynx App. It’ll be an interesting matchup between the Lynx and our Storm, two of the top teams in the Western Conference of the WNBA, as Minnesota has gone an average 3-3 over their past three games coming off a seven-game win streak, while Seattle has hit a snag in the latter part of this homestand having lost two of their last three games after winning the first four games of the long home stretch.
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