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WNBA Seattle Storm

Storm Rallies from Early Deficit But Aces to Pull Away Late to Win 85-72

September 18, 2024 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Seattle Storm News Release


SEATTLE - It went from feeling like a blowout game to feeling like a playoff game.

Then, the Las Vegas Aces got going again.

Nneka Ogwumike scored 19 points, Skylar Diggins-Smith added 17, with each of them tallying 13 during a furious Seattle Storm comeback. But the Aces finished the game on a 21-8 run to secure an 85-72 victory on Tuesday night in Climate Pledge Arena.

Gabby Williams chipped in 14 points for the short-handed Storm (24-15), who were without the services of leading scorer Jewell Loyd (knee) and leading rebounder Ezi Magbebor (concussion protocol) for the second straight game.

It's possible the two teams will meet again in the first round of the playoffs. Tuesday's outcome locked Seattle in at the No. 5 seed. Las Vegas (26-13) is at least the No. 4 seed and still could wind up No. 3 with Connecticut (27-12) dropping to No. 4, depending on the outcome of Thursday's regular-season finales (Las Vegas hosting Dallas, Connecticut hosting Chicago).

Either way, the Storm will be visiting one of those teams for Games 1 and 2 in the best-of-3 first-round series, with Game 1 on Sunday.

If it comes down to a deciding Game 3, Seattle will have the homecourt for that one next Thursday, Sept. 26.

Through the first 15 minutes on Tuesday in front of 14,298 spectators on Fan Appreciation Night, the Aces appeared on verge of running away with the game. They shot 80 percent in the first quarter (12 of 15), scoring on 13 of their 20 possessions for a 29-18 lead. They then hit 6-of-9 to start the second quarter. Twice, Las Vegas built an 18-point lead, the last one at 46-28 with 3:23 left before halftime.

"We were supposed to start the game a certain way defensively, and we did not," head coach Noelle Quinn said. "So that set the tone. It felt like it was 5-on-0 with them moving the ball. There was no resistance, no physicality, we were not playing our coverages. A team like Las Vegas, you cannot spot them 29 points - you can't."

But just like that, momentum shifted to the Storm, as they ran off 12 points in a row. Williams started it with a pair of free throws. She then fed Ogwumike for a lay-in, which she subsequently converted into a traditional three-point play. Diggins-Smith drained a free throw on an intentional foul, and Seattle retained possession.

Ogwumike made good on that opportunity when she hit an 18-footer from the right of the lane. Diggins-Smith came up with a steal and got it ahead to Sami Whitcomb for a lay-in to make it 46-38.

Ogwumike capped it with a 15-footer from the right of the lane - assisted by Diggins-Smith for the 1,500th helper of her career - and the deficit was down to 46-40. A turnaround 10-footer by Kelsey Plum from straight in front bounced in at the buzzer for a 48-40 Aces lead at the break.

"When we started playing our brand of basketball, I felt defensively, we started being more physical, we started getting stops, and we were able to kind of make our run," Ogwumike said. "We were sharing the ball, we got moving. But it all started from defense."

Seattle put the first six points on the board to start the third quarter, climbing within two at 48-46. The teams essentially traded baskets from there, and it was still just a two-point Aces lead at 63-61 entering the final 10 minutes.

A pull-up 16-footer by Diggins-Smith with 9:12 remaining forged a 63-63 tie, the first since it as 2-2 in the opening moments. A'ja Wilson, who finished with 21 points but had just 11 of those after the first quarter, hit a free throw to put Las Vegas back on top, 64-63.

Diggins-Smith buried a high arcing 12-footer from the left of the lane, and for the first time all night, the Storm found themselves in front, 65-64, with 8:26 on the clock.

But that was their last point for the next three minutes. The Aces put seven on the board to go back on top, 72-65. Williams hit a 10-foot turnaround shot from the right side for 72-67 at the 5:26 mark. Seattle then went through another dry spell, this one spanning 4½ minutes while Las Vegas scored 11 straight, putting it out of reach at 83-72 approaching the final minute.

"I think there were a couple possessions that became deflating, and they're possessions that you can't fumble against a team like the Aces," Quinn said. "We just didn't have enough good energy built up to kind of get over the hump. But I'm proud of the group for even having done that with two starters out."

Added Ogwumike, "When you play a team like this, you can't make a lot of mistakes, and I thought we did that in the first half. It's tough to beat them straight-up anyway. But to be down by 18 and to come back and get ahead, it took a lot out of us being short-handed.

"We did some different things today, different coverages, different schemes. We'll have to take a look at the film and get ready for Phoenix."

BY THE NUMBERS

- The Storm shot well enough, hitting 47.6 percent (30-of-63). Ogwumike was 9-of-15, Diggins-Smith was 6-of-12, and Mercedes Russell hit 4-of-8.

- But the Aces, while they cooled off after their 75 percent (18-of-24) start, still wound up at 53.3 percent (32-of-60). and were 45 percent from downtown (9-of-20).

-Diggins-Smith handed out nine of Seattle's 21 assists. That was the 23rd game with 20-plus.

- In addition, Diggins-Smith was in double-digit scoring for the 14th straight game.

- The 14,298 fans gave the Storm a final total of 223,684 for the 20-game home schedule. It's the first time in team history of topping 200,000. The average of 11,184 also was a franchise record.

UP NEXT

The regular season concludes on Thursday at Phoenix. Tip-off is at 7:00 p.m. Pacific time (Fox 13+ / Prime Video Washington).

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