Read em and weep the Las Vegas Aces A’ja Wilson led with 30 points and 10 rebounds against the Seattle Storm at the Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas on Sat Sep 2, 2023 (@LVAces photo)

By Barbara Mason

Saturday night the Las Vegas Aces (32-6) took care of business against the Seattle Storm (11-26) on their home floor, Michelob ULTRA Arena with a 103-77 victory.

After trailing in the first quarter, the Aces went on a 5 and 0 run to take a 10-5 lead at 6:03. As the opening quarter came to an end Las Vegas led 25-19. As the regular season winds down it is clearly evident how much all of these teams have improved, all of them a threat. The Storm had a great defensive effort keeping the Aces out of the paint making life miserable for A’Ja Wilson.

At 7:17 in the second quarter this game was all square at 27-27. The Storm had nothing to lose as they continued to challenge the defending champions. The Storm’s Jewell Loyd was the first player hitting double digits as the Aces fought to contain her.

At the half the Aces had a 49-43 lead. A’Ja Wilson finished the half with 21 points and eight rebounds and the Storm’s Jewell Loyd had 20 in this highly competitive game.

The Aces continued to maintain the lead but the Storm remained just within striking distance. Las Vegas led after three quarters 75-67.

The Aces began to really pour it on in the fourth quarter. At 6:33 Las Vegas had a 87-69 lead as they began to pull away from the Storm. With five minutes left in the game the Aces had their largest lead of the game 91-71.

Both Wilson and Loyd had double doubles but the strength in the Las Vegas starting lineup was more than the Storm could handle. The Aces held onto that twenty point lead for the remainder of the game in fact the final was 103-77 as they blew the Storm out of the building in the final quarter. Las Vegas won the fourth quarter 28-10.

A’Ja Wilson finished with 30 points and 10 rebounds. Jackie Young came in with 22 points. Las Vegas will now get six well-deserved days off as they prepare to finish up the regular season in Phoenix. The entire team is now in playoff mode going forward.

Aces post game notes: The Aces got back on track Thursday night beating the Washington Mystics ending a two game losing streak. With two games left in the regular season, the Aces need to prepare for the upcoming post season. It would appear right now that the road to a second championship runs through New York. It was great to see Candace Parker back on the bench lending her invaluable experience with her teammates.

Las Vegas will be back on the court next Friday taking on the Mercury in Phoenix in back to back games to end the 2023 regular season. It is always fun to watch the expertise of Brittney Griner as she leads Phoenix in this game. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 7:00 PM.