The Las Vegas Aces defeat the Seattle Storm 83-76, winning the series 2-0. They will head to their sixth consecutive semifinals and face the New York Liberty, who swept the Atlanta Dream in the first round.
Game Recap
Ezi Magbegor made her return. after missing the last few games due to a concussion. She was back in the starting lineup.
The Aces wasted no time kicking things off. They immediately jumped to a 17-4 lead. Seattle's shots were not falling and they ran into early foul trouble. They were down by as many as 16 in the first quarter, until the Aces cooled down which led to the lead being cut to 10.
Las Vegas shot 66.7% from the field and 83.3% from three, while holding Seattle to under 40 FG% in the first quarter. A bright spot was the three pointers as they made four out of nine to get back in the game.
As the players and coaches have stated many times: it is a game of runs. The Storm started the second quarter on a 9-3 to cut the lead to four as the Aces' hot shooting cooled off. But they answered with a 6-0 run to push the lead back 10.
Seattle followed that with their own 9-0 run to cut the lead to one. Once again, Las Vegas answered with a 6-0 run to close the first half. The second half was more competitive as both teams took turns hitting shots and going on quick scoring runs.
The Storm tied the game twice, but the Aces had another 6-0 run. It remained a five-point game for most of the third quarter, with Las Vegas maintaining the lead.
Things finally started looking right for Seattle as they took their first lead of the game thanks to a 8-0 run to begin the fourth quarter. Las Vegas immediately answered with a 7-0 run, then the Storm followed with a 5-0 run to make it a one-point game.
The runs continued as the Aces went on another 7-0 run, and they never looked back. Seattle had plenty of opportunities, but their offense stalled as they only scored six more points after cutting the lead to one. The Aces were also dominating the glass, out rebounding the Storm 50-36.
With just under two minutes left, Tiffany Hayes attempted to box out Ezi Magbegor. Both players fell to the ground, and the officials called a loose ball foul on Hayes. Head coach Becky Hammon challenged the call, but it was an unsuccessful challenge which sent Magbegor to the line as they were already in the bonus.
At that point, it was a six point game so there was a chance for the game to get interesting. Magbegor missed both free throws, and Chelsea Gray hit a fadeaway shot on the other end. Magbegor answered with a bucket of her own, but they needed a stop.
They were able to get a stop, but could not take advantage of the opportunity as Skylar Diggins-Smith missed a layup trying to draw a foul. Hayes went and made a layup on the other end, which was ultimately the dagger.
After scoring just two points in Game 1, Kelsey Plum bounced back in Game 2 with 29 points on 73.3 FG% to lead the team. She also had six rebounds and three assists. A'ja Wilson finished with 24 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks. Chelsea Gray finished with 12 points, four rebounds and nine assists.
Gabby Williams led the Storm with 20 points on 50 FG% along with five rebounds. Nneka Ogunwike finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and four steals. Ezi Magbegor finished with 14 points and seven rebounds. Skylar Diggins-Smith finished with 13 points, 10 assists and three steals.
Photo Courtesy: @WNBA/X
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