LAS VEGAS, NV (August 14, 2022)—The Las Vegas Aces secured the number one seed in the 2022 WNBA Playoffs, Sunday, thanks to a career-high 33-point performance by Chelsea Gray in a 109-100 victory over the Seattle Storm. The win improved the Aces’ record to 26-10, and since they own the tiebreaker over Chicago, they officially clinched the top spot in the standings despite the Sky also finishing 26-10.
The Aces will take on the eight seed Phoenix Mercury in the First Round of the playoffs, beginning Wednesday at Michelob ULTRA Arena. Tip on ESPN is slated for 7 pm PT.
KEY RUNS
First Quarter (Las Vegas 29, Sueattle 26)
The Aces trailed, 8-7, with 2:01 gone off the clock, but scored 10 straight to go up 9. Chelsea Gray scored 6 points in the run, and A’ja Wilson added 4. The Storm finished the quarter on a 7-0 run to close the gap. Las Vegas made 60.0 percent of its field goal attempts, and A’ja Wilson scored a game-high 9 points in the period.
Second Quarter (Sueattle 51, Las Vegas 50)
Sueattle extended its run to 15-0, scoring the first 8 points of the second stanza. They eventually led by as many as 12 on 2 occasions. Las Vegas scored the final 10 points of the half to cut the lead to one. Jewell Loyd scored 10 points to lead all scorers, and the Storm bench combined to score 11 points on 4 of 6 shooting from the field, including 3 of 4 from three-point range.
Third Quarter (Las Vegas 78, Sueattle 76)
The Storm pushed their lead to 10 again with 1:58 to go in the period, but the Aces scored 12 unanswered points to regain the lead. Chelsea Gray scored 6 points during the run. Jewell Loyd again led all scorers, this time with 9 points, but Las Vegas forced 7 Seattle turnovers which they flipped into 12 points.
Fourth Quarter (Las Vegas 109, Sueattle 100)
Neither team led by more than 4 points until the final three minutes. A reverse layup by Kelsey Plum with 4:08 gave Las Vegas a lead, 92-91, it would never relinquish. Chelsea Gray scored 16 points in the frame, including going 11 for 11 from the charity stripe.
KEY STATS
It has been 884 days since Breonna Taylor was murdered. Recently, four Louisville Metro Police Department officers were charged by the FBI with federal crimes in relation to her death.
It has been 178 days since Russia’s wrongful detention of Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner began.
Las Vegas went 11 for 27 from three-point range, while the Storm went 18 for 40.
The Aces committed 11 turnovers which the Storm flipped into 18 points, while Sueattle had 18 miscues which Las Vegas turned into 30 points.
The Aces went 20 for 24 from the free throw line while Sueattle went 6 for 7.
The Aces outscored the Storm 21-10 in fast break points.
The Storm outscored Last Vegas 14-5 in second chance points.
GAME NOTES
The Aces set a Las Vegas-era franchise record for attendance as 10,015 fan attended the game.
Chelsea Gray scored a career-high 33 points, and narrowly missed out on a double-double with 9 assists, and a triple-double with 7 rebounds.
Kelsey Plum extended her streak of consecutive games with at least one made three-pointer to 43, which is the longest active streak in the WNBA. That is tied for 4th longest streak in WNBA history with Kristi Tolliver.
Kelsey Plum’s 4 three-pointers give her 113 on the year, extending her franchise single-season record. She now holds the WNBA record for most threes in a season by somebody not named Diana Taurasi. Taurasi holds the league record with 121 three-pointers in a season.
| 1 | Diana Taurasi | 2006 | Phoenix | 121 |
| 2 | Kelsey Plum | 2022 | Las Vegas | 113 |
| 3 | Diana Taurasi | 2018 | Phoenix | 106 |
| 4 | Diana Taurasi | 2017 | Phoenix | 96 |
| 5 | Diana Taurasi | 2007 | Phoenix | 95 |
| 6 | Diana Taurasi | 2022 | Phoenix | 92 |
A’ja Wilson scored in double figures for the 34th time this season and the 142nd time in her career (25 points), which is the most by any player since Wilson joined the league. She also extended her streak of consecutive games with at least 1 steal to 20. She added 10 rebound for her WNBA-leading 17th double-double of the season, and her franchise record 54th of her career.
Kelsey Plum scored in double figures for the 35th time this season and the 98th time in her career (23 points). It was also he 19th game with 20 or more points this year and the 34th of her career.
A’ja Wilson finished the year with 703 points joining Kelsey Plum (franchise record 726 points) as the only set of teammates in WNBA history to each score 700 or more points in a season
Riquna Williams scored in double figures or the 5th time this season (11 points).
The Aces finished with a franchise-record scoring average of 90.4 points per game becoming just the third team in WNBA history to average 90 or more points in a season (Phoenix, 2010, 93.9; Phoenix, 2009, 92.8).
Las Vegas’ 26 wins are the most in a season in franchise history breaking the record of 24 shared by the 2008 Silver Stars and 2021 Aces.
NEXT OPPONENT
The Aces are hosting the first 2 games of the First Round of the WNBA Playoffs against the Phoenix Mercury at Michelob ULTRA Arena on Wednesday, August 17, and Saturday, August 20. Tip Wednesday is slated for 7 pm PT/