LAS VEGAS (Sept. 24, 2024)—Kelsey Plum tied her postseason high with 29 points and A’ja Wilson tallied 24 points and 13 boards to lead the Las Vegas Aces (2-0) to an 83-76 victory over the Seattle Storm (0-2) in the First Round of the WNBA Playoffs. The game, played in front of the 22nd home sellout crowd this season, catapulted the Aces to their sixth consecutive WNBA Semifinals where they will face New York in a best-of-5 series that opens in Brooklyn on Sept. 29.
Gabby Williams had 20 points to lead four double-digit scorers for the Storm.
Box Score | Highlights | Photo Gallery
First Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 30, Seattle 20)
A 12-0 run early in the first quarter gave the Aces a 17-4 advantage at 6:11 and they took their largest lead of the game 23-7 at 5:15. The Aces lead remained in double figures until just under a minute to go when Seattle closed to 28-20. Las Vegas passed out 11 assists in hitting 12 of 18 from the floor and 5 of 6 from 3-point range, while holding Seattle to 7 of 19 field goal attempts and 4 of 9 from afar. The Aces outrebounded the Storm 11-5. Plum and Wilson scored 12 apiece for the home team and Ezi Magbegor topped Seattle with 10.
Second Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 45, Seattle 38)
The second quarter featured a series of runs, the first was 9-3 by the Storm, followed by a 6-0 spurt by the Aces. The Storm countered with the next 11 points, slicing the Aces lead to 1, 39-38, at 2:21 before the Aces put up the first half’s final 6. Seattle’s shooting improved to 6 of 14 from the floor over the second quarter, while the Aces dropped to 5 of 15, including hitting just 1 of 6 from distance. Wilson scored 6 and Seattle received between 2 and 4 points from 6 different players.
Third Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 62, Seattle 57)
Seattle stormed out of the locker room and tied up the game twice, the second at 49-49 at 6:14. The next 6 came from the Aces before the teams swapped scores for the rest of the third quarter. The Aces made 35.3% of their shots from the field and Seattle hit 36.4% of theirs. The teams combined for 1 of 11 from distance with the Storm making 1 of 5. Plum netted 9 and Skylar Diggins-Smith had 7 for Seattle.
Fourth Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 83, Seattle 76)
Seattle took its only lead of the game, 65-64, with 7:58 to play. It was short lived. Wilson scored 14 seconds later to put the Aces up for good. The Storm stayed close, trailing 71-70 with 5:20 to play before a 3-pointer by Jackie Young sparked a 7-0 Aces run. The Storm never got closer than 6 points the rest of the game. The Aces hit 8 of 16 from the field in the final frame and the Storm were 8 of 20. Young scored 7 points for the Aces and Williams equaled that for Seattle.
KEY STATS
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The Aces shot 31 of 66 from the field (.470), on which 23 were assisted, and 7 of 22 from 3-point range (.318), while the Storm made 29 of 75 (.387) overall and 8 of 23 (.348) from distance.
The Aces outscored Seattle 42-34 points in the paint.
The Aces outrebounded the Storm 45-30.
GAME NOTES
Wilson’s 24 points and 13 rebounds marked her 13th 20/10 playoff contest, the most in WNBA postseason history. She entered the game tied with Tamika Catchings and Candace Parker.
Plum’s 29 points matched a career postseason high. She previously scored 29 at New York on Oct. 15, 2023.
Wilson now has 766 playoff points and is ranked No. 13 among all-time WNBA playoff scorers. Breanna Stewart (772) and Brittney Griner (810) are next on the list. No. 10 is Deanna Nolan with 867. Chelsea Gray scored 12 points now has 728 points in postseason play, passing Becky Hammon (722) to move into No. 15 in league history behind No. 14 Katie Douglas (730).
Wilson now has 19 playoff games with 20+ points, which is tied with Brittney Griner for 9th in WNBA playoff history. Eighth on the list is Lisa Leslie with 21.
Wilson has scored in double figures in 18 consecutive postseason games which is the 13th longest streak in WNBA history. Cynthia Cooper is 12th on the list with 19 straight games.
Wilson now has 387 rebounds in postseason play, good for No. 8 in WNBA history. Next up is Sylvia Fowles with 426.
Wilson (9 defensive rebounds) now has 304 postseason defensive boards, moving her past Sylvia Fowles (298) into 7th in league history. Taj McWilliams-Franklin is 6th on the list with 305.
Wilson (2 blocks) now has 85 blocked shots in the postseason which are the 4th most in league history trailing No. 3 Brittney Griner’s 102.
Gray (9 assists) now has 281 assists in the postseason which are the 5th most in league history behind No. 4 Diana Taurasi (293).
Gray and Plum made 2 3-pointers each, moving Gray (84) into 9th on the league’s all-time postseason list for 3-pointers made and Plum (68) into a tie with Allie Quigley for 14th. No. 8 is Kara Lawson (85) and No. 13 is Mwadi Mabika (70).
Wilson’s 8 made 2-pointers brought her playoff total to 282, which is tied with Taj McWilliams-Franklin for No. 7 in league history. No. 6 is DeWanna Bonner (287) and No. 5 is Lindsay Whalen (299).
NEXT UP
The Aces travel to New York for Games 1 and 2 of the 2024 WNBA Semifinals which are slated for Sunday, Sept. 29, and Tuesday, Oct. 1. Tip-off time on Sunday is to be announced, as is the broadcast network.