By Mazvita Maraire Posted on

Storm losing skid at four games after 90-86 loss to Aces

The Storm lost their fourth straight game after a late fourth-quarter rally fell short at Las Vegas. Dominique Malonga had a career-high double-double of 22 points and 12 rebounds, and the Seattle Storm erased a 19-point second-half deficit on Friday night but ultimately fell to the Las Vegas Aces inside Michelob Ultra Arena, 90-86. 

Malonga was one of five players in double figures for the Storm. Brittney Sykes, seeing her first action in a Seattle uniform since being acquired in a trade on Tuesday, had 14 points, as did Gabby Williams. Erica Wheeler tallied 16, and Nneka Ogwumike added 12. 

The 6-foot-6 rookie center hit 8-of-11 from the floor in 25 minutes of action off the bench and surpassed her previous career highs of 14 points and 11 rebounds, both set on July 24 in Chicago. 

“Confidence comes with reps, and I’m getting more and reps,” Malonga said. “My coaches trust me more and more. Now when I step on the court, I just know what I can bring. I just try to do the simple things, do what I’m good at: finishing in the paint, rebounding the ball, set good screens and just do really well. I just step on the court and focus on that, and it’s working, so I just keep doing that.” 

The Storm was down 65-46 with 3:20 left in the third quarter, then started on a 26-8 scoring run that spanned into the fourth quarter. 

“We were sharper with our coverages on A’ja (Wilson), we were contesting, and I thought we were rebounding well in the second half,” Head Coach Noelle Quinn said of the comeback. “We were limiting them to one shot on possessions, playing a little bit faster, and obviously, the points in the paint mattered. (a 30-12 advantage for Seattle in the second half).” 

During the scoring run, Seattle scored the first seven points of the fourth to get within one point and then Malonga tied it 75-75 on a traditional three-point play with just over five minutes to play. 

Las Vegas answered by scoring the next five points, but Seattle came back with its own 5-1 burst to make it a one-possession game at 87-84 with a minute left to play. The Aces stayed ahead for the 90-86 win. 

Sykes played 29 minutes off the bench, coming in for the first time with 6:28 left in the opening period. Along with her 14 points, she had six assists, two rebounds, and two blocked shots. 

“With just one practice under her belt, her explosiveness to the rim, willing to get in the paint and get to the free throw line and she can also initiate and get us into offense,” Quinn said. “She picked up our stuff pretty quickly and I think she’s going to continue to help us tremendously.” 

For the sixth game in a row, the Storm had 20-plus assists, finishing with 21. Along with Sykes’ six, Skylar Diggins also handed out six. 

A’ja Wilson pumped in 29 points and Jackie Young had 26 for the Aces. 

UP NEXT: The Storm ends its two-game road trip on Sunday, August 8 against the Los Angeles Sparks. Tipoff is at 5:00 pm PT and the game will be broadcast locally on KOMO and CW Seattle and available for Prime Video users in Washington State. 

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TEAM 1 2 3 4 FINAL HIGH PTS HIGH REB HIGH AST 
SEATTLE 17 19 27 23 86 D. Malonga (22) D. Malonga (12) Diggins, Sykes (6) 
LAS VEGAS 23 24 24 19 90 A. Wilson (29) Smith, Wilson (12) Gray, Young (5) 

HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME ASSETS:  8.8 @ LVA 

STORY OF THE GAME: The Storm’s first quarter was powered by Ezi Magbegor, who scored eight of the team’s first 10 points, including two three-pointers to start the game. Seattle connected for 10 assists on 13 made field goals in the first half and went into halftime having forced seven Las Vegas turnovers. The Storm went on a 15-6 run in the third to turn a 19-point deficit into a three-possession game going into the fourth quarter. Seattle battled back in the fourth quarter, shooting 53% (8-for-15) from the field, but ultimately Las Vegas stayed ahead for the 90-86 win. 

KEY STATS OF THE GAME 

  • Seattle dominated the battle in the paint in the second half, outscoring Las Vegas by a margin of 30-12.  
  • Dominique Malonga and Brittney Sykes each outscored the Aces reserves by themselves as the Storm bench scored a season-high 36 points. 
  • This marks the sixth time in franchise history, and first time since 2020, that two Storm players scored at least 14 points off the bench in a single game.  
  • The Storm forced 13 Aces turnovers and have now forced at least 13 turnovers in all four matchups against Las Vegas this season. 

STORM HIGHLIGHTS 

  • Dominique Malonga set career highs with 22 points and 12 rebounds on 72.7% (8-for-11) shooting from the field for her second career double-double. Malonga became the first rookie in WNBA history to record at least 20 points and 12 rebounds off the bench. She attempted her 150th career field goal to become the first Storm rookie in franchise history to shoot at least 50% from the field through her first 150 attempts (51.3%). Malonga shot 85.7% (6-for-7) from the free-throw line and added a steal. 
  • Gabby Williams posted 14 points on 100% (5-for-5) shooting from the line as she matched her season high for free throws made. Williams added to her Storm single-season record with two steals for her league-best 24th multi-steal game. She also grabbed three rebounds and dished out four assists, including the 500th assist of her career. 
  • Brittney Sykes made her Storm debut and scored 14 points while dishing out six assists. Sykes added two blocks off the bench to tie her season high and grabbed two rebounds. 
  • Erica Wheeler scored 16 points with two assists and three steals. Wheeler recorded multiple steals for the third consecutive game, tying her longest streak of multi-steal games since 2017.  
  • Nneka Ogwumike finished with 12 points on 71.4% (5-for-7) shooting from the field while grabbing nine rebounds. Ogwumike became the second-fastest player in franchise history to record 500 rebounds in a Storm uniform (68 games) and grabbed multiple defensive rebounds for the 143rd consecutive game, the fourth-longest such streak in WNBA history. 
  • Ezi Magbegor made two three-pointers in the first quarter to set her season high for three-pointers made in a game and tied her career high for threes in a single quarter. Magbegor made her first three attempts from the field and grabbed multiple defensive rebounds for the 110th consecutive game, the longest such streak in franchise history and the seventh-longest in WNBA history. She finished with eight points, three rebounds and two assists. 

ACES HIGHLIGHTS 

  • A’ja Wilson led Las Vegas with 29 points and 12 rebounds. Jackie Young added 26 points. 

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