A’ja Wilson scored 21 points, Tiffany Hayes added 20 off the bench and a strong fourth-quarter defense led the host Las Vegas Aces to a 78-67 victory over the Seattle Storm on Sunday night in Game 1 of the best-of-three, first-round playoff series.
Las Vegas held Seattle without a field goal in the fourth quarter, and the Storm didn’t score in the frame until Skylar Diggins-Smith made two free throws with 4:07 left.
Seattle went 0-for-12 from the floor in the final 10 minutes.
The Aces, struggling to make a Seattle offense, were only up by five when Diggins-Smith went to the foul line. They didn’t score in the fourth until Kelsey Plum made a layup with 7:08 left, Plum’s only points of the night.
After Diggins-Smith’s late free throws, Las Vegas rattled off eight unanswered points to close the game.
Chelsea Gray, who finished with 16 points for the Aces, closed the game with a basket. Gray also dished out a team-high seven assists.
Jackie Young added 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Las Vegas. Wilson, who was unanimously named the WNBA MVP earlier Sunday, matched Kiah Stokes with a team-high eight rebounds.
Neneka Ogwumike recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds in the loss. Gabby Williams scored 14 points and grabbed eight boards, while Mercedes Russell finished with eight points and 12 rebounds.
Diggins-Smith led Seattle with 16 points and eight assists. Las Vegas held Jewell Loyd to just six points on 2-of-8 shooting from the floor in his return from a knee injury.
The Storm went 25-for-68 from the field (36.8 percent), struggling to find scoring opportunities inside. Wilson was outstanding when it came to protecting the rim, recording five blocked shots.
Ezi Magbegor (concussion) was out for Seattle, which led 65-64 entering the fourth before succumbing to the cold.
–Field Level Media