The Aces just couldn’t match the Storm duo of Breanna Stewart and Sue Bird as Seattle beat Las Vegas 93-80 at the IMG Bubble in Bradenton, FL.

“A lot of things didn’t go right for us today,” said head coach Bill Laimbeer. “We struggled to score, we struggled to make shots.”

Stewart finished the game with 37 points and 15 rebounds, while Bird had a WNBA Finals record 16 assists.

“I thought that she [Stewart] played very well,” said Laimbeer. “Once her shots start going in, she is going to start knocking in a bunch more.”

The Aces rallied back in the third quarter from 19 down, but couldn’t maintain their intensity in the fourth quarter.

“We worked so hard to get back in that game in the third quarter,” said Laimbeer. “I think it took a lot of gas out of us.”

The Aces were led by forward Angel McCoughtry who scored 20 points, while A’ja Wilson added 19.

“We have been in this situation before and we are in a good position,” said McCoughtry.  “We can’t hang our heads.  We will adjust for next game.”

“We are in the Finals,” said Wilson. “We have to give it our all and leave it there with no regrets.”

The Storm now lead the best of five series 1-0 heading into game two on Sunday.

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Notes:

• The Aces shot just 35.1% from the field, while Seattle shot 50%.
• Las Vegas was 10 for 21 from three-point range.
• The Aces out-rebounded the Storm, 39-37.

Game Starters:

F – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 35 Angel McCoughtry
C – 4 Carolyn Swords
G – 21 Kayla McBride
G – 3 Danielle Robinson