The Las Vegas Aces didn’t enter the 2024 WNBA Playoffs as the title favorite for the first time in a few years, as the back-to-back champs only landed the 4-seed and were second on the odds sheet behind the New York Liberty as Game 1s tipped off on Sunday.
The Liberty took care of business with relative ease against the Dream in their Game 1 to open the day, but the Aces needed a much bigger effort to get past the Storm in the nightcap in Vegas. Seattle came out with terrific intensity on both ends of the floor and built an 18-9 lead after the first quarter, holding Vegas to 2-of-18 shooting in the opening frame, while Nneka Ogwumike got off to a strong start to lead Seattle offensively as they turned defense into offense.
Jewell feed
Nneka finish
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— Seattle Storm (@seattlestorm) September 23, 2024
The Aces would quickly battle back and the game settled into a back-and-forth affair, with Seattle leading by four at the half despite an extremely quiet first 20 minutes from the unanimous MVP, A’ja Wilson. Unsurprisingly, she woke up in the third quarter to score 15 in the period by herself, helping the Aces close the gap down to one heading into the fourth.
"The M'V3 has ARRIVED!"
A'ja Wilson scores 11 PTS in the 3Q to cut Seattle's lead to just 1
SEA-LVA on ESPN | #WNBAPlayoffs presented by @Google pic.twitter.com/EypPA05VFz
— WNBA (@WNBA) September 23, 2024
The story of the second half — and especially the fourth quarter — was Vegas ratcheting up the defensive pressure as they engulfed the Seattle offense. Wilson led the way with five blocks, while Tiffany Hayes had five steals off the bench, as the Aces took advantage of the physicality being allowed in the game and put the clamps on the Storm.
A'ja Wilson records her 5th block of the contest
SEA-LVA on ESPN | #WNBAPlayoffs presented by @Google pic.twitter.com/Hf4YIyo0bp
— WNBA (@WNBA) September 23, 2024
In the fourth quarter, Seattle did not make a shot, as their only two points in the quarter came on a pair of Skylar Diggins-Smith free throws with four minutes to go. In total, Seattle went 0-for-12 from the field in the fourth, as the Aces put on a masterclass defensively to cause the Storm to completely stagnate. On the other end, it wasn’t perfect from the Aces, but Chelsea Gray took over late with some big buckets to put the game on ice.
Playoff Chelsea Gray is HERE
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— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) September 23, 2024
Gray finished with 16 points and seven assists, providing some welcome support for Wilson’s 21-point, 8-rebound, 5-block effort. Jackie Young chipped in 12 points, but Hayes was the saving grace for the Aces with 20 points and the aforementioned five steals off the bench, injecting some needed life into the Vegas backcourt with Kelsey Plum ice cold (1-of-8) on the night.
For the Storm, Ogwumike finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds, but all of her scoring came in the first half, while Diggins-Smith led the team with 16 points and 8 assists. Gabby Williams added 14 points and 8 rebounds, but as a team the Storm shot just 36.8 percent from the field, as they could not find a rhythm against the Vegas defense. Figuring out how to crack that code will determine whether the Storm can force the series to Seattle for a Game 3, because the defending champs had far from their A-game offensively on Sunday night but still came out on top.
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