Aces Sprint to 102-77 Victory over Storm to Open 2025 Postseason Play
WNBA Las Vegas Aces

Aces Sprint to 102-77 Victory over Storm to Open 2025 Postseason Play

Published on September 15, 2025 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Las Vegas Aces News Release


LAS VEGAS - The Las Vegas Aces (30-14, 1-0) opened the 2025 WNBA Playoffs with a 102-77 victory over the visiting Seattle Storm (23-21, 0-1) on Sunday night in Michelob ULTRA Arena, extending their franchise-record winning streak to 17. A'ja Wilson scored a game-high 29 points and added 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocked shots in 30 minutes of play; Jackie Young tallied 18 points, 5 boards, 7 assists and 4 steals; Jewell Loyd added 14 points; Dana Evans had 13 and 6 assists; and NaLyssa Smith posted 11 points and 9 caroms.

Five Storm players scored in double figures, led by 16 points from Gabby Williams, and Dominique Malonga had the game's lone double-double with 12 points and 11 boards.

In other playoff opening games, Minnesota (1-0) defeated Golden State (0-1) 101-72, Atlanta (1-0) took down Indiana (0-1) 80-68 and Phoenix (1-0) lost at home to New York (1-0) in overtime.

Box Score | Gallery | Highlights

Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final

Aces 22 23 31 26 102

Storm 12 13 27 25 77

First Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 22, Seattle 12)

A Young steal that led to a Wilson bucket 30 seconds into the game set the tone for the night. The Aces eventually went up 17-5 behind 8 of 11 shooting from the field, while its defense held the Storm to 2 of 8. The Aces capped the first quarter hitting on 9 of 15 (.600) from the floor and 2 of 5 from 3-point; the Storm made just 5 of 18 (.278) and 1 of 5 from deep. The Aces were credited with 4 blocked shots and scored 6 points off Seattle's 6 turnovers, while giving up 3 on their 4 miscues. Wilson led all scorers with 8 points, Loyd had 7 and Nneka Ogwumike had a high of 5 for Seattle.

Second Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 45, Seattle 25)

Seattle scored 5 quick points to draw to within 5, 22-17, in the first minute of the second frame. It took another minute for the Aces to score, but when they did it was with 9 unanswered points for a 31-17 lead at 5:56. After swapping scores over the next few minutes and the Storm trailing 35-23 with 3:43 on the clock, an Aces 10-2 run sent the home squad into the locker room with a 20-point cushion. The Aces hit 8 of 17 (.471) from the floor and made 3 of 6 from deep; Seattle made 6 of 18 (.333) attempts and again made just 1 of 5 from 3-point. Wilson put up 8 points and Young scored 6, while Seattle was led by 5 points from Erica Wheeler.

Third Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 76, Seattle 52)

Seattle opened the second half with the first points and the teams swapped baskets through the 6:38 mark when Seattle scored to make it 54-36. The Aces put together a 5-0 spurt, followed by 5 straight from Seattle. From there, the Aces outscored the Storm 11-2 for their largest advantage to that point, 69-43. Seattle had its best shooting quarter, hitting 11 of 21 (.524) from the field and 3 of 4 behind the arc. However, the Aces poured in 11 of 18 (.611) from the field and 5 of 8 (.625) from 3-point. Young scored a high of 12, with Wilson adding 9; while Skylar Diggins,12 points, and Williams, 10, led Seattle.

Fourth Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 102, Seattle 77)

An 8-0 run by the Aces early in the fourth quarter slammed shut any comeback hopes Seattle may have harbored, and the Aces lead never dropped below 22 in the frame. The Aces shot just 8 of 21 (.381) from the floor, including 4 of 10 from deep, in the final period, while Seattle hit on 9 of 14 (.643)overall and 2 of 4 from deep. Malonga scored a high of 7, and no Las Vegas player had more than 5.

KEY STATS:

The Aces shot 50.7% from the field and a red-hot 48.3% from 3-point range, while the Storm made 43.7% of their field goal attempts and 38.9% from deep.

Las Vegas was 16 of 21 (.762) from the line and Seattle made 8 of 11 (.727).

The Aces held a 39-35 edge on the glass.

The Aces scored 21 points off 13 Seattle turnovers, while giving up 12 off 10 miscues.

The teams were dead even with 36 points in the paint apiece. However, the Aces outscored the Storm 12-2 in second chance points and held a 15-14 edge on the fast break.

GAME NOTES

With 3 steals, Chelsea Gray now has 63 playoff steals and moved from No. 22 to tied at No. 18 with Diana Taurasi. Lisa Leslie and Ticha Penicheiro are no. 16 with 65 apiece; Tamika Catchings is No. 1 with 152.

Wilson entered the game ranked No. 12 in WNBA playoff history with 849 points. She leapfrogged Deanna Nolan (867) and Angel McCoughtry (875) and now is the 10th-leading scorer in league playoff history with 878 points. Next up is No. 9 Seimone Augustus (901) and No. 8 Lisa Leslie (908). Taurasi is No. 1 with 1,486 points.

Wilson passed Lisa Leslie (344) and now stands at No. 5 all-time among playoff leaders with 348 rebounds. No. 4 is Rebekkah Brunson (377) and No. 1 is DeWanna Bonner (502).

Wilson has now scored 25 or more points in 9 career playoff games, which ranks tied at No. 7 with Cynthia Cooper-Dyke and Cappie Pondexter on the WNBA all-time list. Diana Taurasi is No. 1 with 19.

Wilson notched the 22nd career 20-point playoff game of her career, which ranks tied with Deanna Nolan for No. 7 on the all-time list. Taurasi is No. 1 with 44 20-point playoff games.

Wilson broke a tie with Gray, Taj McWilliams-Franklin and Tina Thompson, to move into No. 13 among all-time leaders with her 39th playoff double-figure scoring game, which is tied with Sue Bird, Katie Douglas, Angel McCoughtry and Alyssa Thomas. Taurasi is No. 1 with 67.

The franchise playoff record improved to 37-40 in its 17th playoff appearance.

The Las Vegas winning streak is now the second-longest in league history. The 2001 Los Angeles Sparks strung together 18 in a row from June 26-August 11, and the 2002-2003 Sparks won 18 in a row from August 9, 2002, through June 14, 2003.

UP NEXT: The Aces and Storm head to Seattle for Game 2 of the best-of-three quarterfinals on Tuesday, Sept. 16. The game tips at 6:30 p.m. and will air on ESPN.

Check out the Las Vegas Aces Statistics

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Women's National Basketball Association Stories from September 15, 2025


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