Seattle now returns home, needing a win to keep their postseason hopes alive. Game 2 is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Climate Pledge Arena, News.Az reports, citing US media.
The first-round opener boiled down to this for Seattle: Too much A’ja Wilson.
The Aces star, who is a MVP front-runner and vying to become the first WNBA player to win the award four times, scored at will on an array of layups, midrange jumpers and a three-pointer against a Storm front line that provided little resistance.
It didn’t matter if it was veteran center Ezi Magbegor, rookie post player Dominique Malonga or All-Star forward Nneka Ogwumike, Wilson exploited Seattle’s one-on-one defensive scheme for a game-high 29 points on 10-for-18 shooting from the field.
“They were ready. I felt like they were more ready than we were when we started the game,” Ogwumike said. “We had an idea of what we wanted to do, but they did what they wanted to do to start the game off.
“We were a bit more reactive and not proactive. And even in moments when we had to kind of make decisions, at least in the beginning, we weren’t responsive. You know, we were a little bit more reactive, and so you can’t do that against a team like this.”
Defensively, Wilson finished with seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks while holding Ogwumike to 11 points — seven fewer than her team-leading average — on 5-for-10 shooting.
“We have to bring our A game every single time,” Wilson said. “We don’t take any moment for granted. We understand how hard it is and what it took for us … the journey to get to this point.
“We know we have to come out and be on point no matter what because people are going to know our plays, people are going to know our motions and actions. Now it’s just playing the perfect basketball at the right time.”
The red-hot Aces finished the regular season with 16 straight victories and win No. 17 seemed assured in the early minutes when Aces backup guard Jewell Loyd entered with 7:08 left in the first quarter.
The former Storm star quickly connected on three shots — a putback, midrange pullup jumper and three-pointer — for seven points and a 13-5 Vegas lead that prompted a Seattle timeout.
However, Las Vegas continued to roll and stretched its lead to 22-10 near the end of the period.
“Obviously, she’s a priority,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said when asked about Loyd. “We want to get her shots. We want to get her going and it happened to work out.
“When we play defense like that, everybody eats. Everybody comes to the table. There’s enough for everyone. … Jewell is a whole problem if she’s seen one or two early ones go in. We know she’s going to be cooking all night, so it was nice to get her going.”
Early in the second quarter, Ogwumike sank a jumper and backup guard Erica Wheeler drained a three-pointer that pulled the Storm within 22-17, which constituted the only highlights for Seattle.
The Storm never got any closer and the Aces quickly regained control before taking a 45-25 lead into halftime.
“You can’t score 12 and 13 points in the first half on the road against a team who is red hot,” coach Noelle Quinn said. “We turned the ball over to start the game and that kind of set the tone for what we did offensively. Not a lot of pace, not a lot of intentionality with attacking their (defensive) switches. Can’t win a game like that.”
Las Vegas’ lead swelled to 76-49 late in the third quarter and things never got any better for Seattle.
Down 83-54, frustrations appeared to boil over early in the fourth quarter when Ogwumike shoved Loyd to the floor while attempting to post up beneath the rim.
After the play, the Storm forward dropped the ball on Loyd, which drew a technical foul and prompted Aces guard Chelsea Gray to confront Ogwumike, her former Los Angeles teammate.
“I didn’t even realize that the ball hit her,” Ogwumike said. “That was totally my fault. I was trying to let her know, like I didn’t see her. I was frustrated because I thought that she had fouled me. And it turns out that that’s what happened. And so instead of just giving the ball to the ref, out of frustration, I just dropped the ball.
