Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum (10) pushes through the defense of Seattle Storm guards Jordan Horston, left, and Jewell Loyd, right, during the first half at Mandalay Events Sports Center in Las Vegas on Saturday, May 20, 2023, in Seattle. (AP News photo)
Aces Shine Dominating Storm In Season Opener 105-64
By Barbara Mason
This weekend the WNBA regular season got underway with a number of games already played on Friday night. Saturday the defending champs, the Las Vegas Aces (1-0) took the court against the Seattle Storm (0-1). The Aces have had a challenging off-season going back to early 2023.
There have been serious allegations that has certainly cast a dark cloud over the start of the season for this team. Head Coach Becky Hammon will miss the first two games due to a suspension handed down by the WNBA for violating workplace policies. There is still a lot more to all of this than meets the eye. In spite of the distractions of the Hammon suspension the Aces pulled off a opening night victory at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle 105-64.
This has most certainly been a distraction for the Aces as this is only one of many issues they were facing during the off- season. That being said, this opening game is an important one that will shed a lot of light on the entire situation and how this team will handle all of this going forward. There has to be one focus for the team right now and that is their quest for another title.
The opener against the Storm will give the Aces a lot of answers and they will have A’Ja Wilson, the reigning MVP in last years championships, and company divulging the queries that many have right now. With so much spotlight on all of this it’s time to flip the script and turn it in the direction of the game-it’s time to play ball.
As the first quarter came to an end the Aces held an 18-14 lead struggling from the floor but still able to maintain the lead for most of the quarter. Kelsey Plum who had shoulder surgery in the off-season had eight points in the quarter as did Jackie Young.
In the second quarter the Aces turned on the offensive firepower that is their trademark and less than two minutes into the quarter had a 25-14 lead with a lot of game still to be played. With less than two minutes left in the half, the Storm went to the line for the first time in the game.
The Aces distanced themselves from the Storm in the second quarter leading at the half 43-28. Las Vegas had outplayed the Storm at every vantage; rebounding, points in the paint and from the perimeter. The Aces chemistry played a huge part in the second quarter of this game and pushing the lead to 15 Las Vegas continued to extend their lead in the third quarter forging ahead to a 74-48 lead.
Seattle’s Jewell Loyd had her teams high with 15 but she was the only player with double digits after three quarters. The Aces already had four players in double digits and A’Ja Wilson was having an impressive defensive game with 13 rebounds.
The entire Aces starting lineup finished with double digits. In the fourth quarter the Storm had their first second chance basket just indicative of the Las Vegas defensive dominance. in this game. The final was 42 point blowout. The offensive chemistry and the defensive brilliance was just to hot to handle for Seattle.
The Aces had 50 rebounds to the Storm 32, almost 55% from the field and over 60% from beyond the arc. It was about as solid as you could get. A’Ja Wilson clocked her 55th double double, a franchise record. There remained little doubt regarding how the team would play in the absence of their coach Becky Hammond. It speaks volumes of the chemistry that this team has in place.
The Aces will head back in California to take on the Los Angeles Sparks on Thursday evening. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM.
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