By Barbara Mason

The WNBA now heads into their final week of the regular season. Sunday night the Las Vegas Aces (29-13) took on the Seattle Storm (8-35). The 2026 WNBA season will play their final regulation game on Thursday September 24, the playoffs getting underway on Sunday September 27. Many of the players in the league are back from Germany where they played in the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup. A’Ja Wilson did not travel to Germany not feeling 100% physically well and it was a priority to get her healthy with the playoffs on the horizon. After the first quarter of tonight’s game the Aces had a significant lead 29-18. The Storm rallied in the second quarter coming as close as a single basket but the Aces pushed back leading at the half 52-43. The Aces would outscore the Storm in the third quarter 24-21. They really piled it on in the fourth quarter outscoring Seattle 22-13 and winning the game 98-77.

GAME RECAP

The Las Vegas Aces were back in action after a several weeks layoff due to the basketball tournament overseas. They took a 29-18 lead after the first ten minutes of play. They finished the opening quarter shooting close to 60%. The Storm was playing in their second game of a back-to-back. As the quarter came to an end, Seattle was starting to heat up.

The Storm rallied in the second quarter getting to within two points 31-33. They were giving the Aces all they could handle. With 4 1/2 minutes left in the half Las Vegas was fighting to keep the lead as Seattle threatened throughout the final minutes of the second quarter. Jackie Young was on a heater scoring 16 points in the first half and A’Ja Wilson was in double digits with 14 points. The Aces heated up in the final minute of play taking a 52-43 lead into the locker room. The Seattle Storm had outscored the Aces in the second quarter 25-23.

As the third quarter came to an end the Aces were holding onto a 76-64 lead. Cheyenne Parker-Tyus hit a three to close out the quarter. They had outscored the Storm in the third quarter 24-21. The Storm however had out-rebounded the Aces through three quarters 28-18 and Las Vegas would have to keep an eye on that going into the fourth looking to close out this game.

It was a solid fourth quarter for the Aces not only hanging onto their lead but extending it throughout the quarter. When it was all said and done the Aces had outscored Seattle 22-13 winning the game by the score of 98-77.

GAME NOTES

The Las Vegas Aces executed beautifully on offense in this game. They established control early although the Storm did threaten in the second quarter. The Aces maintained that advantage for most of the game. Las Vegas had a strong start and they sustained offensive effort. They opened scoring 29 points in the first quarter and 24 in the third. This consistent scoring helped them not only build but preserve a comfortable lead in the fourth quarter.

The Aces offensive efficiency was really good shooting 48.4%. Seattle just could not keep pace with Las Vegas. They only scored 7 points in the all-important fourth quarter. The Storm fell behind early and they had a lot of trouble matching the Aces overall offensive output. Las Vegas maintained the lead throughout the game. The Storm never found the scoring consistency needed to make it a close finish.

A’ja Wilson reached the 1,000 point mark (1021 to be exact) in this game the second time she has reached this milestone. She finished this game with 30 points the high for the game. Jackie Young had 23 points and Chelsea Gray with 15. Three bench players Cheyenne Parker-Tyus, Mai Yamamoto and Ta’niya Latson each had 8 points.

On Tuesday evening the Aces will matchup with the Los Angeles Sparks as they approach the finish line their goal to finish strong. Chelsea Gray did say after tonight’s game that they need to work on defensive rebounding and you can be certain that they will turn that around. Tipoff for this game that will be played at Michelob ULTRA Arena is scheduled for 7:00 PM.