Ogwumike tallies team-high 21 points; Horston adds season-best 18 points in defeat
By Mark Moschetti, Seattle Storm
LAS VEGAS – The Seattle Storm just couldn’t get started on Wednesday night. And the Las Vegas Aces never stopped.
Nneka Ogwumike scored 21 points and Ezi Magbegor had a double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds, but the Aces (7-6) maintained a double-digit lead from late in the second quarter through the end of the game on the way to a 94-83 victory in Michelob ULTRA Arena.
The Storm (9-6) dropped their second straight to end a stretch of seven-out-of-nine games on the road. They did, however, go 4-3 in those road games and 6-3 overall.
Jordan Horston came through with her third straight double-digit scoring performance for Seattle, finishing with a season-high 18 points to go along with six rebounds and three assists in nearly 27 minutes of action off the bench. Skylar Diggins-Smith chipped in 10 points.
Las Vegas (7-6) went on a 22-7 scoring run bridging the first and second quarters to extend a 12-9 lead all the way to 18 at 34-16.
Seattle climbed back in, cutting the margin to 39-30 with 3:40 to go in the half. But the Storm managed just two more points the rest of the way until the break as Las Vegas stretched it back out to 15 at 47-32.
The closest they came after that was 47-36 when Skylar Diggins-Smith and Ogwumike converted on the first two possessions of the third quarter. The Aces answered with a 7-0 run and stayed at least 12 points ahead until the final seconds.
Jackie Young poured in 32 points for Las Vegas, with 14 of those during the first quarter. A’ja Wilson had 27, getting 16 of hers during the fourth quarter.
BY THE NUMBERS
— While Las Vegas was nailing shots from all over the court, the Storm still shot a respectable 44.3%, hitting 31-of-70. Magbegor and Horston each shot 60% (both 6-of-10), and Ogwumike hit 52.9% (9-of-17).
— Magbegor’s double-double was her fifth of the season and 18th of her career. That moved her past Natasha Howard into No. 4 on the team’s all-time list.
— The season series is now even, with the Storm having won on June 7 in Las Vegas, 78-65. They’ll play twice in Seattle, including once on the upcoming nine-game homestand.
UP NEXT
The Storm begins a WNBA-record nine-game homestand on Sunday against league-leading Connecticut. Tip-off off is at 12 noon in Climate Pledge Arena (Fox 13+ / Prime Video Washington).
—— StormBasketball.com ——