LAS VEGAS, NV. —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.
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 out rebounded the Aces 40-33.
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).
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.
Photo/LasVegasAces/X
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