SEATTLE – Natasha Howard notched her fifth double-double of the season and Sami Whitcomb drained four three-pointers as the Seattle Storm held on to beat the Las Vegas Aces, 69-66. It marked the fourth consecutive victory for the Storm, which is now 12-8 on the season with one more game to play before AT&T WNBA All-Star 2019.
Whitcomb put the Storm on the scoreboard with back-to-back 3-pointers, the latter of which ignited an 11-0 run for Seattle. Jewell Loyd received a standing ovation from the sellout crowd as she entered the game with 2:38 left in the first quarter. The 2019 WNBA All-Star starter missed the Storm’s last seven games after sustaining an ankle injury on June 25 in Las Vegas.
After she was held scoreless in the opening frame, Kayla McBride contributed six points in the second quarter as the Aces went on a 14-6 run to tie the game with 5:25 left in the half. Alysha Clark broke her scoreless spell with back-to-back 3-pointers, though the teams continued to trade blows. Seattle entered the locker room with a 43-35 advantage, though 10 errors had allowed the Aces to tally 16 points.
Setting the tone in the third quarter, Las Vegas scored seven straight points after Mercedes Russell opened the frame with a turnaround hook. Wilson exited the game with an apparent ankle injury with 6:00 minutes left in the frame and the Aces trailing by six. Playing on her alma mater’s court where she became the NCAA women’s basketball all-time leading scorer, Kelsey Plum ripped off five consecutive points to end the frame.
Crystal Langhorne scored six of the Storm’s first eight points in the fourth quarter before the team was iced out, going 0-for-11 from the field in the final 6:39 with three shot-clock violations. Jordin Canada ended the Storm’s drought with a pair of free throws with under 30 seconds left in regulation. McBride knocked down a three-pointer to get within one of the Storm, but Canada was again fouled by Plum and returned to the charity stripe. The Storm went 10-for-10 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter, finishing with a perfect 20-for-20 on the night.
Liz Cambage, who pulled down a season-high 14 rebounds, scored eight points into the final frame including a shot under the rim with 12.2 seconds left to get within one of the Storm. However, Natasha Howard went to the line to push the Storm’s lead back to three, and Plum missed the potential game-tying shot as the Aces fell for the first time since June 27.
The Storm will face the Aces for the third and final time on Tuesday, July 23, at 7 p.m. PT on ESPN2. Seattle (12-8) is now within one game of the league-leading Connecticut Sun (12-6) with one week until AT&T WNBA All-Star 2019.
KEY STATS OF THE GAME
- In the Storm’s 20th game of the season, Natasha Howard recorded her fifth double-double on the year with 21 points and 10 rebounds, matching her total number of double-doubles in 2018. Howard also tied her career high with six blocks, and has now blocked a total of 10 Aces shots in two contests this season (4 blocks on 6/25).
- The Storm inked a single-game franchise record with 18 steals. Jordin Canada collected a team-high five steals, bringing her WNBA-leading total to 49.
- Seattle was a perfect 20-for-20 from the free throw line, while Las Vegas shot 9-of-14 from the charity stripe (64.3%).
SEATTLE HIGHLIGHTS
- After tallying a season-high 15 points on 5 made 3-pointers on Wednesday in Minnesota, Sami Whitcomb tallied 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc. Whitcomb has knocked down 16 long-range shots in her last four games combined.
- Although she shot 1-of-12 from the field, Canada ended a six-minute Storm scoring drought (6:39- 00:27.8) with a pair of free throws to stretch Seattle’s lead to four points at the 27.8 mark in the fourth quarter.
- Crystal Langhorne led both benches in scoring with 11 points in 14 minutes of game action. After having only three games with 10+ points in 2018, this is the sixth game of the season that Langhorne has netted double figures.
- Seattle was a perfect 20-for-20 from the free throw line, the first time the team has finished perfect from the charity stripe in almost exactly a year (9-9 FT at Connecticut on 7/20/18). It also marked the franchise’s most free throws attempted without a miss since 7/1/06 (21-21 FT vs. Minnesota).
- Seattle shot a season-worst 27.8 percent from the field (20-72 FG). In two games vs. Las Vegas, Seattle has shot a combined 30.3 percent (44-145).
LAS VEGAS HIGHLIGHTS
- Liz Cambage brought down a season high 14 rebounds, she finished the night with 16 points for her fourth double-double of the season.
- The Aces forced 20 turnovers for 22 points off Storm mistakes.
- On the defensive end of the court, Las Vegas forced three Seattle shot-clock violations in the final five minutes of play.
- With 22.4 seconds remaining in the contest, Kayla McBride hit a clutch three-point shot following an Aces timeout to get within one of the Storm.
NEXT GAME
The Storm will face the Las Vegas Aces for the third and final time in the regular season on Tuesday, July 23, with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m. PT on ESPN2 at Mandalay Bay Events Center.