Aces defeat Storm behind historic performance from A’ja Wilson

Aces Storm 

The Aces got off to a 4-0 lead in the opening quarter, but the Storm responded with an 8-0 run of their own. Seattle led by as many as seven points in the first quarter, but the Aces closed the gap to four, 17-13, by the end of the quarter. A’ja Wilson struggled in the first quarter going 1-7 finishing with just 2 points and 6 rebounds.

A’ja Wilson heated up in the second quarter, going 2-2 from the field and led the Aces in scoring with 6 points and 5 rebounds, for a total of 11 boards at halftime. The Aces, who shot just 27% as a team in the first quarter, went 6-14 (42.9%) in the second quarter, but trailed Seattle 36-30 at halftime.

The Aces would fall down 45-42, with A’ja Wilson having to be substituted after being accidently hit in the face by Nneka Ogwumike with 5:36 left. Wilson returned with 3:44 left, and the Aces went on a 14-2 run to take a 56-47 lead. During the run, Jackie Young was responsible for 11 of the Aces 14 points. Seattle would cut the lead to five points at the end of the quarter, 60-55, thanks to a last-second jumper by Skylar Diggins-Smith.

The Aces were up 9 late in the fourth quarter with 2:11 remaining, Seattle would trim the lead to three with 45 seconds left, but they couldn’t go any closer. Seattle eventually lost 84-79 to the Aces, thanks to two clutch free throws from A’ja Wilson. With this victory, the Aces currently lead the season series 2-1 and have overtaken the Seattle Storm for fourth place in the WNBA.

Box Score

Four Las Vegas Aces scored in double digits, led by Jackie Young, who struggled in the first half and finished with just six points. Young went on to score a game-high 27 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists while shooting 10-19 (52.6%) from the floor.

A’ja Wilson, who had just been chosen the 2K25 cover athlete, came out strong, ending with 24 points, 20 rebounds, three steals, and four blocked shots. Wilson becomes the eighth player in WNBA history with 4000 points and 400 blocked shots.Wilson also became the second player in franchise history to have 20 and 20, behind only Aces General Manager Natalie Williams, who got the league’s first on June 22, 2002 as a member of the Utah Starzz.

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Kelsey Plum ended with 13 points, four assists, and two rebounds, hitting two three-pointers. Chelsea Gray rounded the double-figure scoring with 11 points and 6 assists on 5-8 (62.5%) shooting from the field.

Seattle had three players in double figures of their own led by Jewell Loyd who finished with 28 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assist. Loyd bounced back after going 0-9 last time these teams met but it still wasn’t easy as she finished the game 8-22 from the field.

Skylar Diggins-Smith finished with 16 points, 8 assist and 4 rebounds on 7-13 (53.8%) shooting from the field. Ezi Megbegor rounded out the double figure scoring with 10 points and 10 rebounds on an efficient 5-7 (71.4%) shooting from the field.

The Aces did an good job defending Nneka Ogwumike, who entered the game averaging 17.5 points per game on 54% shooting. Ogwumike was held to just 9 points and 8 rebounds while shooting 4-15 (26.7%) from the field.

The Aces will stay on the road and face the Atlanta Dream on Friday, July 12th. The game will be aired on ION, with tip-off scheduled for 4:30 p.m.