LAS VEGAS (Sept. 22, 2024)—After 11 lead changes over the first 30 minutes of play, the Las Vegas Aces outscored the Seattle Storm 14-2 in the 4th quarter to earn a 78-67 Game 1 victory in the First Round of the WNBA Playoffs. Played on Sunday night in front of a sold out crowd at Michelob ULTRA Arena, the Aces were led by 2024 WNBA M’VP A’ja Wilson’s 21 points, 8 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. Tiffany Hayes came off the bench for 20 points and 5 steals, Chelsea Gray tossed in 16 points and dished out 7 assists and Jackie Young contributed 12 points and 7 boards.
Skylar Diggins-Smith led 4 Storm players who scored in double figures with 16, while Mercedes Russell grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds to go with 8 points.
Box Score | Highlights | Photo Gallery
First Quarter Highlights (Seattle 18, Las Vegas 9)
A pair of runs by the Storm, 9-0 and 7-0, coupled with 2 of 18 shooting from the Aces, helped the Storm take an 18-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. Seattle, which made 8 of 23 from the floor, outrebounded Las Vegas 19-9. The Storm outscored the Aces 14-0 in the paint and 7-0 on second-chance points. Gray and Wilson had 5 and 4 points, respectively, while Diggins-Smith topped Seattle with 7.
Second Quarter Highlights (Seattle 42, Las Vegas 38)
The Aces outscored the Storm 22-9 over the first 6:02 of the second quarter to pull ahead 31-27. The Storm netted the next 6 points to reclaim the lead, 33-31. With the game even at 38-all and less than a minute to play, the Storm swished in the first half’s final 4 points, all from the line. The Aces hit on 10 of 14 (.714) of their field goal attempts, including 4 of 5 from 3-point, and Seattle went 9 of 15 (.600) overall and 2 of 4 from afar. Hayes scored a high of 12 points on 4 of 4 shooting from the floor, including a pair of 3-pointers, while Nneka Ogwumike put up 9 for Seattle.
Third Quarter Highlights (Seattle 65, Las Vegas 64)
The Storm went up 49-42 early and at 4:17 were up 5, 57-52. From there, the game was knotted 3 times and no team held more than a 3-point lead. The Aces hit 57.9% of their shots from the field and the Storm made 44.4% of theirs. Both teams went 2 of 4 from distance. The Aces outscored the Storm 16-6 in the paint. Wilson scored a playoff quarter high 15 points and Gabby Williams had 9 for Seattle.
Fourth Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 78, Seattle 67)
Neither team scored for the first 2:52 of the final stanza when Kelsey Plum made a layup that put the Aces on top for good, and they outscored the Storm 14-2 in the final frame. The Storm missed all 12 of their field goal attempts as the Aces hit 7 of 18 from the floor. Neither squad connected from beyond the arc with the Aces attempting 6 and the Storm 3. Gray and Hayes scored 4 apiece.
KEY STATS
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The ACLU is currently tracking 530 anti-LGBTQ+ bills in the United States, up from 515 at the start of the 2024 WNBA season.
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The Aces shot 30 of 69 from the field (.435) and 7 of 18 from 3-point range (.389), while the Storm made 25 of 68 (.368) overall and 4 of 16 (.250) from distance.
The Storm outscored the Aces 14-6 in second chance points
The Aces owned the points in the paint, 40-30, including 30-6 in the second half.
The Storm outrebounded the Aces 40-33.
GAME NOTES
The 11.1% shooting by the Aces in the first quarter was the lowest shooting output in a single quarter in a WNBA playoff game since Indiana shot 9.1% (1-11 FGs) against Minnesota in the second quarter of Game 5 of the 2015 WNBA Finals (10/14/15). Until the Storm went 0 of 12 in the 4th quarter.
Wilson (21 points) now has 742 playoff points and is ranked No. 13 among all-time WNBA playoff scorers. Breanna Stewart (759) and Brittney Griner (810) are next on the list. No. 10 is Deanna Nolan with 867.
Wilson now has 18 playoff games with 20+ points, which is tied for 10th in WNBA playoff history. No. 9 is Brittney Griner (19) and No. 8 is Lisa Leslie (21).
Wilson (8 rebounds) now has 374 rebounds in postseason play, good for No. 8 in WNBA history. Next up is Sylvia Fowles with 426.
Wilson’s 295 postseason defensive rebounds ranks 8th in league history behind No. 7 Sylvia Fowles (298) and No. 6 Taj McWilliams-Franklin (305).
Wilson (5 blocks) now has 83 blocked shots in the postseason, ranked 4th in league history, trailing No. 3 Brittney Griner’s 102.
Wilson’s 5 blocked shots are tied for the 3rd most in a franchise playoff game (Wilson, 7; Liz Cambage, 6).
Gray (7 assists) now has 272 assists in the postseason, good for No. 5 among league leaders behind No. 4 Diana Taurasi (293).
Las Vegas was without the services of Queen Egbo (non-COVID illness) and Seattle played without Ezi Magbegor (concussion).
NEXT UP
The Aces host the Seattle Storm in Game 2 of the First Round of the WNBA Playoffs Tuesday, Sept. 24, at 6:30 pm PT. The game is being broadcast nationally by ESPN.