Las Vegas forward Queen Egbo (0) goes airborne to lay up against the Seattle Storm’s guard Victoria Vivians (35) at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle on Tue Sep 17, 2024 (Las Vegas Aces photo)

By Barbara Mason

Tuesday night the Las Vegas Aces (26-13) played their last regular season road game taking on the Seattle Storm (24-15). They had what was probably their best first quarter all season shooting at 80%.

The Storm came on strong in the second half tying the game and leading for a minute by a single point. Las Vegas finished off the Storm in the final three minutes of the game winning by the score of 85-72.

The Storm did a great job containing A’Ja Wilson after she had scored ten points in the opening quarter. She scored 11 points in the remaining three quarters for a 21 point night.

Game recap: The Aces could not have had a better start in the first quarter of this game. They shot an unbelievable 80% leading after the first ten minutes of play 29-18. A’Ja Wilson had ten points in the opening quarter.

In the second quarter Las Vegas led by as much as 18 points. The Storm just kept picking away and they outscored the Aces in the second quarter 22-19. At halftime the Aces had a 48-40 lead but a real shift in the game could be seen. The Storm had not led once in the first half but they had more than cut the Las Vegas lead in half.

The Storm would not back down winning the third quarter 21-15. The Aces by the slimmest of margins led as the third quarter ended with Las Vegas on top 63-61. After the impressive ten point start in the opening quarter, A’Ja Wilson had only scored seven points going into the fourth quarter.

The Storm had really contained her. The Aces were having a lot of success from downtown with eight three’s while the Storm only had one. Kelsey Plum had four three’s and Chelsea Gray had three in this crazy battle. It all came down to the fourth quarter.

Less than a minute into the fourth quarter, this game was tied at 63. At 8:26 in the quarter the Storm had taken their first lead of the game 65-64. The Storm tied the game one more time before Las Vegas began to push back.

With less than three minutes left in the game Las Vegas had taken a79-67 lead. The Aces continued to dim the Storm’s hopes extending their lead and with under two minutes left in this game they had a 14 point lead 67-81. Las Vegas had finished this game the way they had started it. The final was 85-72.

This game was a real battle in the second half until the final three minutes of play when the Aces began to really push the score. The Storm had six turnovers in the final quarter three of which three occurred in the final three minutes and coupled with missed shots it was all but over for the Storm. The high score for the Storm was Nneka Ogwumike with 19 points followed by Skylar Diggins-Smith with 17.

The Las Vegas Aces are peaking at the perfect time. With this win, they have won four games in a row. They barely lost to the Liberty without A’Ja Wilson on the floor out for that game. This team right now really looks like they could pull-off a three-peat.

They have the grit and the talent to pull it off but it will not be easy. A’Ja Wilson finished this game with 21 points and seven rebounds which is on the quiet side for her. Kelsey Plum also scored 21 points with seven rebounds.

Jackie Young had a great game with 16 points and four rebounds and the feisty Chelsea Gray finished with 13 points and six rebounds. This was an amazing team effort and Tiffany Hayes was solid off the bench with ten points

Game notes: Tuesday evening the Aces took on the Storm at Climate Pledge Arena. Another packed arena attended the final home game of the regular season. It was another sell-out game with over 15,000 fans. Both of these teams are headed for the playoffs.

The Aces will now head home for their final regular season home game. They will take on the Dallas Wings at Michelob ULTRA Arena Thursday night with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 PM.