By Mazvita Maraire Posted on

Stifling defense and a hot shooting Jewell Loyd sees Storm take game one of the WNBA Semifinals

With the backdrop of the bright light of Las Vegas shinning Game One of the WNBA’s Western Conference Finals between the Seattle  Storm and the home team, Las Vegas Aces did not disappoint.  A star-studded game that featured some of the  WNBA’s best players was close until Storm guard Jewell Loyd took matters into her own hands.

LOYD TAKES OVER

Jewell Loyd scored a game-high  26 points including 10 in the fourth quarter and Tina Charles pulled down a franchise-record 18 rebounds while adding 13 points. A stifling defensive  effort by the  Storm early   and late saw the visitors pull out a 76-73 win over the WNBA’s top seed and highest scoring

SETTING AN EARLY TONE

The Storm busted out of the gate with a quickness that was backed by some hot shooting. An early 7-0 run by the  Storm saw the visitors take a 13-4 run at the 6:38 mark of the first quarter. The hot shooting and stingy defense saw the Storm hold a 26- 15 lead after one.

OVERCOMING COLD-SHOOTING SECOND QUARTER

A cold shooting spell in the second quarter by the Storm saw the  Aces narrow the deficit to just three points at 30-27 with  3:46  to go in the half. The Storm answered the Aces 8-0 run by closing out the half with a 5 of 6 shooting performance and head into the halftime break with  43-36 lead

VEGAS GOES ON ANOTHER RUN

The Aces went on another run in the third quarter, this time a 7-0 barrage that narrowed the deficit to just two points with 6:22 left in the quarter. The Storm pushed the lead back up to six points with half of those points courtesy of two points and a and one by Loyd. The quarter ended with the Storm clinging to a  60-57 lead.

WILD FOURTH QUARTER

The Storm hot shooting returned, and the visitors pushed their lead to 64 -57 on a pair of Breanna Stewart free throws at the 7:13 mark.  A pair of three-pointers from Kelsey Plum and Riquana Williams saw the Aces take their first lead of the game.  A continued commitment to play old-fashioned defense from the frontcourt to backcourt saw the Storm cause a crucial turnover with a time game and just  1:16 left.  Loyd made one of two free throws and the Storm made its biggest defensive stance when it forced turn Plum to turnover.

A  Loyd step-back bucket increased the  Storm lead to three with 34.6. An errand three attempt by Plum with 2.9  fell into Stewart’s hands to secure the win for the visitors. Stewart finished the game with 24 points to mark her seventh-straight playoff game with 20+ points. She is now tied for the 2nd-longest streak of all-time, one shy of Cappie Pondexter’s record of eight-straight games with 20+ points set back in 2010. Stewart also added six rebounds, three blocks, two assists, and a steal.

 POSTGAME NOTES

 STORY OF THE GAME

  • Jewell Loyd scored 10 of Seattle’s last 12 points including a free throw with 1:16 left to give the Storm a 76-73 win over top-seeded Las Vegas in Game One of the WNBA Semifinals. Loyd would ice the game with a clutch jumper with :34.6 seconds left as the Storm defense forced a pair of misses and a turnover by the Aces over the final minute to seal the win. 

KEY STATS OF THE GAME

  • Seattle’s defense held Las Vegas to 73 points, well below its regular-season average of 90.4 ppg.
  • Seattle shot 41.3% from the field to Vegas’ 41.2%, but the Storm took seven more shots thanks to a 7-4 edge on the offensive glass and just seven turnovers, tied for its second-fewest ever in a playoff game.
  • Seattle outscored Las Vegas 16-0 in fastbreak scoring and tallied 19 points on 11 Aces’ turnovers. 
  • Tina Charles set a Storm playoff record with 18 rebounds, helping Seattle outrebound Las Vegas 37-34.

STORM HIGHLIGHTS

  • Jewell Loyd scored a game-high 26 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter, missing her playoff-high by two points (also against Las Vegas), and giving her 64 total points in her last two games at Michelob ULTRA Arena including her career-high 38 points in the regular-season finale.
  • Breanna Stewart tallied 24 points, six rebounds, three blocks, two assists and one steal. Stewart has scored 20+ points in 16 of 19 career playoff games including seven-straight, matching the second-longest streak all-time (Cynthia Cooper, Diana Taurasi), one game behind Cappie Pondexter.
  • Tina Charles had 13 points and 18 rebounds to record her eighth playoff double-double, also recording a playoff-high with her 18 boards.
  • Sue Bird dished out 12 assists in the game, moving past Lindsay Whalen to become the WNBA’s all-time playoff assist leader, finishing with 342. She also had zero turnovers, becoming only the third player with 12+ assists and zero turnovers in a playoff game (Cynthia Cooper, Diana Taurasi).
  • Stephanie Talbot made her fifth career playoff start and scored seven points, while adding six rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block.

ACES HIGHLIGHTS

  • Chelsea Gray led the Aces with 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting with five assists, two steals and a block.
  • Kelsey Plum scored 21 points, adding five assists, two steals and one block.
  • Jackie Young finished with 11 points, plus five assists, three rebounds and one steal.

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