Aces dominate Storm in opener of first-round WNBA playoffs series
The Aces dominated Game 1 of their best-of-three first-round WNBA playoffs series against the Seattle Storm on Sunday night at Michelob Ultra Arena by perfectly executing coach Becky Hammon’s words from hours prior.
“Your records don’t matter. No streak matters. Nothing matters. Nothing carries over. Everybody starts at 0-0,” Hammon said at shootaround that morning. “It’s about being present in the moment. But for us, it starts on the defensive end, always. And if you just follow them around, it’s going to be a problem.”
Less than 30 seconds into the 102-77 win, which extended a franchise-record 17-game win streak, it was clear that the Aces were going to use that guidance to pose a major issue for the Storm.
Ezi Magbegor won the tip versus reigning MVP A’ja Wilson, but Aces guard Jackie Young disrupted Seattle’s first play by intercepting a pass from Brittney Sykes and getting the ball back to Wilson on the fast break to open scoring.
What followed was a 17-5 run.
The hot start featured back-to-back buckets from forward NaLyssa Smith before 5-foot-11-inch point guard Chelsea Gray bullied 6-2 forward Nneka Ogwumike for a defensive rebound. Soon after, Jewell Loyd came in off the bench to score seven uninterrupted points in a single minute and force the Storm to call a full timeout. Even after the break in play, Wilson was able to score on two midrange jumpers assisted by Gray and guard Dana Evans.
Wilson led the No. 2 seed Aces (31-14) with 29 points. Young recorded 18 points and seven assists, while Jewell Loyd added 14 points against her former team. Evans had 13 points and six assists.
The seventh-seeded Storm, led by Gabby Williams’ 16 points, were never able to build any significant momentum. Ogwumike sat next to her in the postgame news conference and was blunt about what made the Aces such a challenge.
“They were more ready than we were,” Ogwumike said. “We had an idea of what we wanted to do, but they did what they wanted to do. … And even in moments when we had to make decisions, at least in the beginning, we weren’t responsive. We were a little bit more reactive. And so you can’t do that against a team like this.”
The Aces are now 7-0 in the first round under Hammon, including three-straight against the Storm, who the Aces shutout in the first round last season.
Wilson on brink of history
After Wilson missed a 3-pointer in the first quarter, she avenged it on the other end by blocking Seattle rookie Dominique Malonga so emphatically that it sent her down to the court.
When Wilson landed herself at the free-throw line on the next possession, the look in her eyes was undeniable. The Aces weren’t losing.
The Aces ended the first quarter with a 22-12 lead and four blocks where the Storm had nonw.
Wilson was already up to 16 points once the Aces established a 45-25 lead at halftime, while all of the Storm’s starters combined had scored just 15.
Every time she reached the free-throw line, “MVP!” chants rang out in the arena.
If Wilson wins the MVP award this year it would be her fourth, an unprecedented number for the league.
A reminder of another time she made history rang out during halftime at Michelob Ultra Arena on Sunday when rap group Crime Mob performed “Knuck If You Buck,” which was South Carolina’s anthem as she led the Gamecocks to their first-ever NCAA title in 2017.
“I never thought this song was gonna follow me,” Wilson said, lamenting to Hammon that she forced her to miss the live performance. “Crime Mob is near and dear to my heart, honestly, and I hate that I missed (the performance), but at the same time, it’s pretty cool to kind of see it just grow on with me.”
Nostalgia aside, Wilson is already for Game 2 of the series, which will tip off at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.
“This is now the time where you have to dang on be perfect,” Wilson said. “The way that people play us, we have to bring our A-game every single time so we don’t take any moment for granted. We understand how hard it is and what it took for us, how hard the journey was for us to get to this point. And so we know we have to come out and be on point no matter what.”
Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.