07.20.2023

Seattle holds Las Vegas to just 79 points, but shots just don’t fall on the other end in 79-63 loss to defending champs

SEATTLE – A solid defensive effort helped the Seattle Storm came close enough to make a game of it against the Las Vegas Aces.

But some icy offense kept them from coming close enough to win it.

Jewell Loyd and Ezi Magbegor scored 12 points each, and the Storm went on a 19-2 run, including 14-straight points bridging the third and fourth quarters a 21-point third-quarter deficit all the way down to seven midway through the fourth. But the Aces, with three starters in the 20-point range, pulled away for a 79-63 victory in Climate Pledge Arena on Thursday night.

The Storm (4-17) became just the third team this season to keep the Aces (20-2) below 80 points. The only other two teams to do that were the only two teams to beat the defending champions: Connecticut (94-77) and Dallas (80-78).

The Storm (4-17), who dropped their eighth in a row, were hampered by cold shooting from everywhere: 38.7 percent overall from the field (24 of 62), 26.9 percent behind the 3-point arc (7 of 26), and just 44.4 percent at the free throw line (8 of 18).

We’re different from Day One,” said head coach Noelle Quinn, whose team lost by 41 to the Aces on opening day back in May. “We’re not where we want to be, but that’s what the second half of the season is, to continue to grow and make progress in other ways. (For our young team), it’s a positive to be in a situation where it’s a single-digit game late in the game against a very talented team and a championship team.”

Las Vegas was led by 23 points from A’ja Wilson, who made it a double-double with 15 rebounds. Jackie Young tallied 22, and Kelsey Plum finished with 20 for the defending champions, who won their fourth straight.

Rookie forward Jordan Horston added 11 points off the bench for the Storm.

The Aces were up 60-36 with 3:09 left in the third quarter, and then 62-41 on a step-around lay-in by Wilson at the 1:46 mark.

But Seattle then scored the last five points of the third quarter to make it 62-46, and the first nine of the fourth, cutting the margin to 62-55 with 6:34 left. Sami Whitcomb capped it with a 3-pointer from way out on the right side, and Vegas immediately called a timeout.

The Aces responded with five straight points – a mid-range jumper by Plum, a lay-in by Young off a feed from Plum, and a free throw by Chelsey Gray – as part of a 9-3 run that pushed it back to 13 at 71-58 at the 3:55 mark and stayed ahead by double digits the rest of the way.

“I thought during that stretch when we came back, we were better defensively, running out and getting better looks,” said Whitcomb, who finished with eight points, four rebounds, and two assists. “Our energy – that’s what got us back in. We had energy, and we were working together defensively. Obviously, they still ended up scoring, 79, which is probably low for them, and they didn’t shoot a fantastic percentage (43.9, compared to their season mark of 50.5), considering how well they normally shoot.

“But rewarding ourselves with those efforts, we then have to finish plays on the other end,” Whitcomb added. “We have to make sure that if we’re getting stops, we’re scoring.”

The Storm, whose only lead of the night was 11-9, that with 4:07 left in the first quarter on a driving lay-in by Gabby Williams as she made her first start since rejoining the team, were hanging right with Las Vegas. The got within four at 22-18 on a 3-pointer by Horston with 7:41 to go in the second quarter. That’s when the Aces went on an 11-0 run in a span of 4 minutes, 4 seconds, as Seattle got just two shots during stretch and turned it over three times.

A driving lay-in by Williams finally got the Storm back on the board with 4:57 left in the half, making it 33-20. Las Vegas took a 39-28 lead into the locker room at halftime.

A 21-6 outburst through the first seven minutes of the third quarter produced the 60-36 lead that seemed to have Las Vegas on its way to another wide margin of victory after it beat Seattle 105-64 on May 20 and 96-63 in Nevada on June 15.

But the Storm once again found a way to climb back into it.

“It’s a good position to be in against the No. 1 team in the league. We’re learning,” Quinn said of getting within range and plenty of time still on the clock.”

The Storm wasn’t able to finish the comeback and close the deal, but Quinn pointed out, “Instead of closing the deal, it’s how to continue playing the same way. That encompasses how you close games or possessions or quarters.”

SELECT POST-GAME QUOTES

JORDAN HORSTON – “There were a lot of positives in this game, and we just need to keep building on from that. I feel like we’re making strides in the right direction and need to just keep working on it. Our energy was there.”

NOELLE QUINN – “I think that it’s a positive to be in a situation where you’re in a single digit game late in the game with a team whose very talented and primed to win a championship. For a young team like ours it shows a lot of pride, and this is a testament to the work that they’re putting in and attentiveness to detail and all the things that matter when you’re trying to find success.”

“We want to keep getting better every single day and every single game but also we’re looking for teams and players that fit each other to continue to build championship level quality caliber players.”