HOW TO WATCH
Tuesday’s game at Las Vegas will be streamed on Twitter. Fans can also follow live stats at StormBasketball.com, or on Twitter by following @SeattleStorm.
LAST TIME OUT
Playing at Alaska Airlines Arena for the first time, the Seattle Storm improved to 4-0 at home after edging out the Indiana Fever, 65-61. Leading the Storm with 21 points, Jewell Loyd drove in the go-ahead layup with 24.6 seconds left, and Natasha Howard pulled down the Fever’s final attempt and hit two free throws to secure the win.
Loyd hit her stride early with 10 points in the opening quarter, almost matching Indiana’s 12 points. The Storm and Fever continued to trade blows until Kelsey Mitchell and Candice Dupree poured in six unanswered points to enter the locker room with a one-possession lead.
While the Storm struggled to find the net in the third, Indiana went on a 9-0 stretch to quarter, capped by a Natalie Achonwa three-point buzzer beater. However, the Fever went 0-for-9 from the field to start the fourth quarter until Kelsey Mitchell ended the scoring drought with 5:27 remaining. Erica Wheeler rattled off seven consecutive points for Indiana to tie the game, but Jewell Loyd countered with a driving layup to force a Fever timeout.
Playing with four personal fouls, Mercedes Russell was sturdy on defense as Wheeler was unable to connect on Indiana’s final possession. After collecting the rebound, Howard went to the line, hitting both shots to give the Storm a four-point cushion.
The Storm finished with 18 points off 21 Indiana turnovers, improving to 4-0 at home for the first time since 2017.
SERIES HISTORY
At the top of the Western Conference, the Seattle Storm (7-4) holds a one game advantage over the Las Vegas Aces (5-4). Last year, the Storm spoiled the Aces’ debut in their new city with a 105-98 defeat. The Storm has won the season series between the two franchises since 2015.
SCOUTING LAS VEGAS
The Aces dominated the Dallas Wings (2-6) at home, 86-68, on Saturday in their first meeting since the blockbuster trade involving Liz Cambage. The Australian center stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, nine rebounds, six assists and five blocks against her former team.
Rookie Arike Ogunbowale hit a buzzer-beater three-pointer to give Dallas a narrow lead after 10 minutes of play, but the Aces capitalized on the Wings’ 2-of-14 shooting in the second quarter and ran up a 15-point lead by halftime. The Aces never looked back, maintained a double-digit advantage the rest of the way.
Both benches had big nights, as Dearica Hamby recorded a personal best with 27 points and Ogunbowale tallied a career-high 25 points.
A’ja Wilson, named the WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week on Monday, put up 20 points on shooting 9-of-12 shooting.
UP NEXT
The Storm returns home Friday, June 28 at 7 p.m. PT to host the Chicago Sky at the Alaska Airlines Arena. It marks the third and final meeting between the two teams after Chicago won both contests in the Windy City.