By Christan Braswell, edited by Charles Hamaker

Seattle, WA - For weeks now, Storm coach Noelle Quinn fielded one question after another about the impending matchup with the defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces to close out the season series and the possibility of meeting in the first round of the playoffs.

In so many words, Quinn and her group knew of their place in the standings and what that meant come playoff time. However, with Jewell Loyd (Right knee) and Ezi Magbegor (concussion) out for the last two games, circumstances entering this particular matchup changed slightly.

The first five minutes of the opening frame were exactly that. Seattle was thriving off high-quality shots and executing their game plan. It just so happened they were facing arguably the best offensive unit in the WNBA as the Aces ignited a 14-6 run and closed the quarter up 29-18. WNBA MVP frontrunner A’ja Wilson had ten points on 83 percent shooting, ending the game with 21 points and seven rebounds. Kelsey Plum added 21 points, Jackie Young had 16 points and six assists, and Chelsea Gray chipped in 13 points, six rebounds, and five assists.

After being down by as much as 18 in the second quarter, the Storm’s offense came alive via a 12-2 run over the last three minutes, whittling the deficit to eight at 48-40 at halftime.

Seattle stretched their run to 18-2 halfway through the third period where Storm stars Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins-Smith combined for 12 of the team’s 21 points, bringing the deficit to two, 63-61, heading into the final frame. Ogwumike finished with 19 points and six rebounds. Diggins-Smith continued her scorching production in post-Olympic play with 17 points on 50 percent shooting, nine assists, and one turnover.

From the 3:30 mark in the second quarter until the end of the third, Seattle outscored Las Vegas 33-17. Despite missing two key starters in Loyd and Magbegor, they hung around until the Aces hit a switch that few teams, if any, have the ability to hit with relative ease.

The fourth quarter was all Las Vegas due to a 17-2 run where the Storm couldn’t register any of the quality looks they feasted on through the first thirty minutes of play due to a heavy 2-3 zone deployed by Aces coach Becky Hammon to counteract the Storm’s ability to probe the paint and find a score.

“We need to work on zone offense,” said Ogwumike. “That’s my takeaway.”

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Cover photo of this article by Liv Lyons for the Seattle Storm, check out her portfolio here.

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