By Mazvita Maraire Posted on

The storm could not overcome a dreadful third quarter in 84-79 loss to the Aces.

The Seattle Storm ( 14-8) played solid fundamental basketball for three quarters, particularly in the first half, where their defense was simply stellar. A disappointing third quarter led to their second consecutive loss to Western Conference rivals Las Vegas Aces (14-7 ). The Storm took a 36 – 30 lead into the halftime break, a testament to their strong defensive effort.

 The Storm’s relentless ball pressure, strategic space occupation, and solid fundamental defense were the key to their success. They forced the  WNBA’s top-scoring team to convert only 12 of 36 shot attempts from the field, and their ball-hawking defense even limited the WNBA scoring leader, A’Ja Wilson, to a mere eight points in the half.

GOOD OFFENSIVE FLOW

.With their defense in sync, the Storm could move the ball up the court and score in transition. Jewell Loyd scored nine points to lead a balanced attack that saw all five starters with at least two points . Ezi Magbegor had eight points and six rebounds, Nneka Ogwumike had seven points and four rebounds, and Skylar Diggins-Smith chipped in six points and dished out six assists. Jordan Horston scored two points and pulled down five defensive rebounds.

FORGETTABLE THIRD QUARTER

A cold shooting and a colossal defensive breakdown led to a woeful third quarter in which the  Storm allowed the Aces to explode for 30 points in the third quarter.

“ I remember us hustling and winning the 50/50 balls in the first half, Storm head coach Noelle Quinn said. “ Aja could assert  herself, and we did not take care of the ball .” Wilson scored  17 third-quarter points. The  Storm scored just 19 points.  A 12-0 run midway through the third quarter gave the Aces a lead they never relinquished.

FURIOUS RALLY FALLS SHORT

Despite the disastrous third quarter, the Storm was down just five points, 60-55, heading into the fourth quarter.  A three-pointer the old-fashioned way saw Loyd make all three free throws to put the Storm within three points at  82-79 with  48.2 seconds. After a  Chelsea Gray miss, Loyd and Ogwumike could not hit from behind the arc after two good looks at the basket. Wilson sealed the game with a pair of free throws to seal the game for the Aces. Wilson finished the game with 24 points and  20 rebounds.

BIG TAKE AWAY

The big takeaway for the Storm is that it takes four complete quarters to beat the best teams in the league, especially the defending champions. In playing the full four quarters, the Storm must match the elite teams’ physicality and intensity.

BY THE NUMBERS

— The Storm wound up with one more field goal (31-30) and shot 40.3 percent for the game (31 of 77). The Aces were at 42.9 percent (30 of 70).

— Las Vegas got a lift at the free throw line, shooting 95 percent (19 of 20). Seattle was at 87.5 percent (14 of 16).

— The Storm committed just 13 turnovers, their 15th straight game with fewer than 15. But of their six during the second half, the Aces converted on five of them for 10 points.

— Young shot just 3 of 9 while scoring six points during the first half, but then hit 7 of 10 on the way to 21 second-half points.

— Loyd hit 10 of 11 at the free throw line.

— She also had three assists, giving her 1,000 for her career. She is the 12 WNBA player with 5,000 points and 1,000 assists.

Magbegor’s 10 points gave her precisely 1,500 for her career. She is the 11th player to score that many in a Seattle uniform and the first since Alysha Clark in 2019.

UP NEXT

The Storm play the eighth game on their WNBA-record nine-game homestand when they host Minnesota on Friday at 7:00 p.m. in Climate Pledge Arena. Those teams played a home-and-home set to start the season, and the Western Conference-leading Lynx won 83-70 in Seattle and 102-93 in double overtime in Minneapolis.

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