By Christan Braswell, edited by Charles Hamaker

Paradise, NV - With a loss to the Las Vegas Aces on Wednesday night at Michelob ULTRA Arena by a score of 94-83, the Seattle Storm have lost back-to-back games for just the second time during this 2024 season.

Game photos from the Seattle Storm road loss to the Las Vegas Aces at Michelob ULTRA Arena on Wednesday, June 19th, 2024. (Provided by the Seattle Storm/WNBA)

When speaking to reporters after losing to the Mercury on Sunday, Storm head coach Noelle Quinn said she felt like her team’s defensive effort wasn’t where it needed to be to begin the game.

Against a team starting to figure it out in the Mercury and the Aces who got their floor general in All-Star Chelsea Gray back tonight, Seattle endured two consecutive starts that showed lapses in the team’s effort and execution on defense.

Seattle has played seven of their last nine games on the road. They began this stretch with four straight wins, but fatigue has caught up with the team, which is 2-3 in the last five games following the loss to Las Vegas. Throughout the last several games, the Storm have been unable to string along consecutive quarters of play on both sides of the ball. Last night in Las Vegas was yet another rendition of this.

Following a 78-65 win over the Aces on June 7th, Seattle entered its rematch facing Chelsea Gray, who made her season debut after missing 12 games due to a foot injury.

Gray had four rebounds, seven impactful assists, and two blocks in her return. She gave Las Vegas what they have missed all season — a true point guard. Aces wing Jackie Young has thrived playing on-ball more with point guard duties in Gray’s absence, averaging a career-high 6.4 assists. It is basketball 101 to expect her shooting percentages to dip this season. That was not the case Wednesday night.

Seattle was preoccupied with Gray’s return, and rightfully so. Her basketball IQ is above all. Still, Young is one of the most underrated wings in the game and she took advantage of having less attention, scoring 32 points — two shy of her career-high set just two games ago — on 11-for-19 shooting. She also had four rebounds, two assists, and two steals.

Young contributed to the effort early and often, connecting on several drives to the rim to top a 9-2 run that gave the Aces a 21-11 lead with 3:08 left in the first quarter, which provoked a Storm timeout.

In the second frame, Aces guard Kelsey Plum dimed teammate Kiah Stokes as she drained a corner three-pointer that gave Las Vegas a 34-16 advantage. The Aces led 47-32 at halftime, tied for the most points the Storm have allowed in a half this season.

Seattle made a push in the second half, thanks to the frontcourt rotation. Storm forward Nneka Ogwumike had nine points in the third quarter, finishing with a team-high 21 points. Center Ezi Magbegor added seven points alongside Ogwumike, ending the game with 19 points and 13 rebounds, good for her fifth double-double of the season and 18th in her career, moving her into 11th on the WNBA’s all-time list.

Sophomore wing Jordan Horston continued to impress teammates and spectators alike, notching her third straight outing with double-digit points with 18 points. She also had six rebounds, three assists, and two stocks. From the staff down to Horston herself, there is enormous belief in her rising star, and for good reason.

What’s next?

Following tonight’s road loss to the Las Vegas Aces that ends a three-game road trip and a stretch of games where they spent all but two of nine on the road, the Seattle Storm will now head back home and will begin a historically long homestand at Climate Pledge Arena. That nine-game homestand begins on Sunday, June 23rd with a tipoff time of 12PM PDT as the Storm will be hosting one of the best teams in the WNBA in the Connecticut Sun. The Sun currently have the best record in the league right now, sitting at 13-1 with just that one loss and having gone 9-1 over their last ten games played. The Storm remain in the fourth spot in the WNBA standings, holding a two game lead over the team that they fell to tonight in the Aces. Despite losing their past two games and three of their last four, Seattle has a 7-3 record over their past ten games and a strong showing over this nine-game homestand can put them in a strong position going forward throughout the rest of their 2024 campaign. This game between the Sun and our Storm will be broadcast on FOX 13+ / Amazon Prime Video - Seattle, NBA TV Canada, NBC Sports Boston.

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