Tag: Seattle Storm

The Las Vegas Aces bench celebrate another victory at the Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas against the Seattle Storm in WNBA action on Thu Jun 15, 2023 (@LVAces photo)

Aces Steam-Roll Storm 96-63

By Barbara Mason

Thursday night the Las Vegas Aces (8-1) took on the Seattle Storm (2-6) at Michelob ULTRA Arena and steam rolled over the Storm 96-63. The Aces have one loss on the season to the Connecticut Sun last Thursday night but came roaring back with a win on Sunday over the Chicago Sky (93-80).

Thursday night Aces recap: Mid-way through the first quarter of this game, the Storm were holding their own against the daunting starting roster of Las Vegas. With 5:39 left in the opening quarter Las Vegas held a slim lead 9-8. Turnovers were hurting the Aces with 5 in the first five minutes of play. This was not the way Las Vegas wanted to start the game.

The Storm was putting up some nice defense that was keeping them in the game forcing a lot of those Ace turnovers. After the first ten minutes the game was tied at 17. Las Vegas had to clean up the turnovers going into the second quarter. They finished the first quarter with seven.

The Aces only average 13 turnovers per game and they already had eight in the early minutes of the second quarter. Las Vegas went on a 5-0 run with 4:35 left in the half; really needing to balance the points lost by those lost possessions.

At the half Las Vegas had put the brakes on the turnovers with none since 7:57 in the second quarter. In the final minutes of the half, it was the Storm that were struggling with turnovers. The Aces had their largest lead of the game at the half 47-37.

Jackie Young steamrolled her way though the third quarter giving the Aces a 67-52 lead. Las Vegas took control of the quarter committing only one turnover, shooting at 50% from the field, and A’ja Wilson had her 16th double double. It was all Aces in the third quarter.

The Storm put up a good fight in the first half but just couldn’t sustain the effort they had to start the game. The Aces ran away with the game in the second half crushing Seattle in the fourth quarter winning it 29-11.

Jackie Young had the high for the game with 28 points and A’Ja Wilson finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Off the bench, Kierstan Bell had an outstanding game with 12 points. The Las Vegas bench had a cumulative 20 points to Seattle’s one point. The Aces really cleaned up the turnovers with only four in the second half.

The Aces will take the court again this Sunday against the Minnesota Lynx. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:00 PM.

The Las Vegas Aces guard Chelsea Gray (12) takes a shot against the Seattle Storm center Ezi Magbegor (13) in the WNBA semifinal playoff game in Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas on Sun Aug 28, 2022 (AP News photo)

Seattle Storm Squeak By Las Vegas 76-73

By Barbara Mason

Going into this WNBA semifinal, the Las Vegas Aces were playing some excellent basketball. Their opponent the Seattle Storm had beaten Las Vegas on June 29 but since then Las Vegas has dominated. This will be a battle that everyone expected to see between the two top teams in the Western Conference.

Breanna Steward and the Storm came out strong in the first half. They overwhelmed the Aces in the first quarter 26-15. The Aces Chelsea Gray kept the game manageable, Las Vegas winning the second quarter 21-17. At the half the Storm held a 43-36 lead.

After the third quarter the Aces had begun to make a move winning the quarter 21-17 but still trailing 60-57 after three. Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young all were in double digits after three and Las Vegas would have to make a real push in the fourth quarter.

With six minutes left in the game, the Aces took their first lead 65-64. The Storm got a bit sloppy in the final quarter with turnovers but refused to take their foot off the pedal. With 34 seconds left in the game the Storm had taken a three point lead. The Aces had made some costly mistakes in the final minutes that really hurt them. The final was 76-73 in favor of the Storm in game one of this series.

Jewell Loyd finished with 26 points and Breanna Steward had 24 for an outstanding offensive effort. Tina Charles had 18 rebounds and 13 points in this hard fought game.

The Aces Chelsea Gray had 21 points followed by Kelsey Plum with 20. Las Vegas came up just short losing a tough one at home.

Game two will be on Wednesday night with tipoff at 7:00 PM with the Storm leading 1-0.

The largest crowd in Seattle Storm history turns out to see the Storm’s Sue Bird’s retirement as the visiting Las Vegas Aces came out on top winning the contest at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle on Sun Aug 7, 2022 (AP News photo)

Aces Come Out On Top In Hard Fought Battle versus the Storm 88-81

By Barbara Mason

Sunday afternoon the Las Vegas Aces (22-19) took on the Seattle Storm (20-12). The Aces have won five of their last seven games and sit in first place in the Western Conference. In their last outing the Aces lost a close one to the Mystics 82-80 and were looking to get back on the winning track. The Storm have been a bit up and down in their last seven games winning only three of them. It would prove to be a challenge for both teams.

The Aces were leaning heavily on Kelsey Plum and A’Ja Wilson. The Storm’s Breanna Stewart was a real challenge for the Las Vegas defense. This turned out to be a closely contested game between the first and second place teams in the Western Conference.

The game could have not have been closer as the first quarter came to an end. The Aces led 19-18 in the opening quarter in a hard fought game. At the half the Aces led by a single point 44-43. Both teams scored 25 points in the second quarter in this Western Conference battle.

Las Vegas took a slight lead as the third quarter came to an end 68-63. As the fourth quarter wore one the Aces extended their lead with under three minutes left in the game 81-74. Las Vegas finished off the Storm in the final minutes 89-81 for a well deserved win.

Both of these teams fought to the end in this game It was the brilliant shooting of A’Ja Wilson that made all the difference with 29 points and lots of help from teammates Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young. Kiah Stokes finished the game with eight rebounds.

Next up for the Aces will be on Tuesday in a matchup with the Atlanta Dream in Vegas. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM PT

Aces Lose to Storm 88-78; Vegas’ third loss in four games

By Barbara Mason

Wednesday night the Las Vegas Aces (14-5) took on the Seattle Storm (12-7) at Climate Pledge Arena home of the Storm in Seattle. The Aces won their last game, a close one, to the LA Sparks 79-73 Monday night. The Aces in turn lost to the Storm 88-78 a ten point disappointment and the Aces third loss in their last four games.

The Storm are currently in second place in the Western Conference trailing the first place Aces.

The Aces won the first quarter 27-23 in a closely contested game. The Storm would pull to within three points at the half. Seattle won the second quarter by the slim margin of 21-20. The Aces led at the half 47-44. A’Ja Wilson pulled out all the stops in the first half the only Ace in double digits.

After three quarters the Storm had taken the lead 64-62 winning the quarter 20-15. The Aces had a strong fourth quarter finish in their last game and needed to finish strong in this one.

With four minutes left in the game, the score was tied at 72 and it was the Storm that finished the game. They hoped for a fourth quarter finish but that didn’t happen for Las Vegas and they dropped their third game in four outings. The ten point win was in favor of the Storm.

The Storm had a tremendous game from Jewell Loyd with 24 points.

The high score for the Aces was A’JA Wilson with yet another outstanding game. She finished with 17 points and 16 rebounds. Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray all shot double digits.

Las Vegas will be back on the court in Minnesota taking on the Lynx Friday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:00 PM PT.

Las Vegas Aces’ Liz Cambage (8) takes it to the hoop right between Seattle Storm’s Jewell Loyd (24) and Mercedes Russell (2) at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on Sun Jun 27, 2021 (AP News photo)

Las Vegas Wins Epic Battle Over Seattle 95-92

By Barbara Mason

Sunday afternoon the two powerhouses of the WNBA met in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. Presently the Seattle Storm have the best record in the WNBA at 12-3 and the Aces have the second best at 10-4. The game promise to be a battle down to the final buzzer.

Back on May 15th the Aces lost to the Storm 97-83 although three days later they settled the score winning 96-80. Could this be the WNBA Finals preview? With the level these two teams are playing at we could have another Storm vs Aces matchup.

Last season these two teams met in the final with Seattle coming out on top winning the first three games of the finals; claiming their fourth title in franchise history. This would be the final meeting of these two teams in the regular season.

Early on the Storm lived up to their outstanding record outscoring the Aces in the first quarter 21-16. The second quarter was closely contested with each team shooting 21 points. The half-time score was 42-37.

The consistent play of the Storm was a major factor in the first half. Breanna Stewart finished the half with 12 points. For the Aces it was A’ja Wilson and Jackie Young each with 8 points in the first two quarters.

The Storm lit up the third quarter with 3-pointers and steals outscoring the Aces by a narrow margin 23-21. With one quarter in the game, the Storm led by the score of 65-58. The Aces got within two points of the Storm but were unable take the lead in the second half.

Las Vegas would lean heavily on A’ja Wilson and Jackie Young to get past the Storm in the final quarter. Turnovers had hurt Las Vegas at times in this game and they desperately needed to clean that up.

The Storms Breanna Stewart was relentless in the fourth quarter shooting three-pointers at will. With 5:42 left in the game the Aces took their first lead of the game 75-74. The final minutes of the game saw both teams trade leads and with 1:07 left in the game Las Vegas had a slim two-point lead 84-82. There were five lead changes in the final four minutes of play.

The clock would expire with the teams tied at 84 and would go into overtime. With 26.4 seconds left in overtime the Aces had a 91-90 lead. After trailing for most of the game Las Vegas pulled out the win 95-92 in an epic game.

After a tough game losing to Minnesota the Aces fought through fatigue to win this one. A’ja Wilson came away with 22 points and Chelsea Gray with 21 points as well as the game winner. Off the bench for the Aces Kelsey Plum had 15 points. The Storms Breanna Stewart had had 35 points for the game.

Next up for the Aces will be the Sparks this Wednesday night. Tipoff is slated for 7:30.