By Mazvita Maraire Posted on

Ogwumike’s game high 23points leads Storm to 102-82 rout of Aces

Nneka Ogwumike scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed her 3,000th career rebound, and  Erica Wheeler added 21 points and seven assists off the bench as the Storm extended their win streak to three games.

 A packed Climate Pledge crowd helped create an eclectic atmosphere as Jewell Loyd returned to Climate Pledge for the first time as a Las Vegas Aces player.  A welcome back video montage paid tribute to Loyd’s time with the  Storm. After that, the gloves were off, and the two teams went toe-to-toe.

HIGH ENERGY QUARTER

As one would expect, Jewel Loyd came out breathing fire from the get-go. Loyd scored the Aces’ first nine points. For the Storm, Nneka Ogwumike was just as focused and locked in .  A frantic up-tempo first quarter ended the Storm holding a  34-20 lead. Loyd scored the Aces’ first nine points and finished with  12 points. Ogwumike had 11 points for the Storm.   High energy from both ends of the court was the key to the Storm scoring 34 first-quarter points. 

“ I’m very proud of the group, to come out with the energy and the focus to have a 34 point  quarter that wasn’t, you know, just the offense. It was a defense and igniting the crowd and the energy that that it created, said  Storm head coach Noelle Quinn after the game .”  I’m proud of is it didn’t taper off. 
We were commanding from the beginning and I thought our rotations through parts of the game really stayed sharp”.

SECOND QUARTER  DOMINANCE

The Storm continued their dominance with efficient offense, which was aided by stifling defense and dominating rebounding.  The Storm made 10 of 15 shots from the floor for a whopping  67.7% shooting percentage.  More impressive were the  12 fast-break points. The Storm’s stifling defense held the  Aces to just 16 second-quarter points. The Aces made just five of 14 points from the field for a 35.7 shooting percentage.

ACES MAKE A RUN

The halftime break gave the Aces a chance to regroup and focus on getting the ball inside the paint to offset the Storm’s high-flying attack. The Aces  A’ja Wilson and Elizabeth  Kitley each score eight points in the quarter. The Aces outscored the Storm in the quarter with 23 points to the Storm’s 22 points. Ogwumike led the Storm with eight points in the quarter. The Storm continued their torrid shooting, making  10 of 18 shots from the field for a 55.6 shooting percentage. Despite the slight  third quarter scare the Storm continued to hold a commanding lead at 80 to 59.

ACES MAKE ONE MORE RUN

The Aces made one last final run in the fourth quarter and narrowed the Storm’s lead to just 17 points at 90-73 with 4:18 left in the game. That was the closest the Aces would get as the Storm cruised to  their third consecutive win in four games.

“
I mean, I think that the Aces  is the type of team where they’re gonna get everybody’s best game. And we wanted to give our best while also building our own foundation. So being able to feel this type of connection early feels good, “ said Nneka  Ogwumike after the game. “We wanted to string together four quarters, especially after the last game versus Phoenix, and I think we did a better job of that today “.

STORM HIGHLIGHTS

STORM HIGHLIGHTS 

·       Nneka Ogwumike ended with a game-high 23 points and eight rebounds to go along with six assists, which matches her highest assist total in a Storm uniform. She passed Candace Parker for 9th on the WNBA’s all-time scoring list (6,576) with a layup in the third quarter and recorded the 3,000th rebound of her career to join Tina Charles as the only players in WNBA history to record 3,000 rebounds and 800 assists before turning 35 years old. Ogwumike also passed Katie Douglas for ninth on the WNBA’s all-time steals list, at 624 steals. 

·       Erica Wheeler had her first 20-point game with the Storm as she shot 73% (8-for-11) from the field. Wheeler finished with 21 points, seven assists and two steals off the bench. The veteran guard made her 1,000th career field goal to become the fourth undrafted player in WNBA history to reach the milestone. 

·       Ezi Magbegor finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists while recording her 1,000th career rebound. Magbegor moved into fourth place on the Storm’s all-time offensive rebounds list (277) and passed Swin Cash for the ninth-most points in franchise history at 1,664. 

·       Skylar Diggins, the league’s leader in fast-break points per game, scored eight of her 10 points on fast breaks. Diggins added eight assists, including five in the first quarter, for her third consecutive game with eight or more assists, tying the second-longest such streak of her career.  

·       Gabby Williams posted 12 points, five rebounds and five assists for her seventh game of at least 10 points, five rebounds and five assists with the Storm, which is the sixth-most in franchise history. Williams also grabbed a pair of steals to become the third Storm player all-time to begin a season with four consecutive multi-steal games.  

·       Dominique Malonga set her new career high with eight points on 57% (4-for-7) shooting along with five rebounds. She joins Liz Cambage as the only players in WNBA history to make at least one field goal in each of their first four WNBA games before turning 20-years-old. 

·       Zia Cooke put in five points and added a pair of assists and rebounds during her 11 minutes of playing time. She reached 300 career points and 50 career assists during tonight’s matchup. 

ACES HIGHLIGHTS 

·       A’ja Wilson led the Aces with 15 points, five rebounds and four assists. Jewell Loyd and Jackie Young added 14 points and three assists each. 

UP NEXT: The Storm head to Minnesota for the first matchup of the 2025 season against the Lynx on Tuesday, May 27 at 5:00 pm PT. The game will be broadcast on KOMO and CW Seattle and available for streaming on Prime Video (WA state only). 

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