FSM Essential Recap: Aces vs Storm - Game 33 - 2022

FSM Essential Recap: Aces vs Storm – Game 33 – 2022

Franchise Sports Media

Las Vegas Aces (23-10)  |  Seattle Storm (20-113)

The Las Vegas Aces bounced back from a tough loss on Thursday to beat the Seattle Storm 89-81 in Sue Bird’s final regular-season home game. Keep reading for a recap of the win.

RECAP

Sunday afternoon at Seattle was all about honoring the past. It was Sue Bird, playing in her final regular-season home game, who was the celebratory subject after serving 21 years in the Pacific Northwest. A record-setting sellout crowd of 18,100 filled Climate Pledge Arena to honor and cheer her on for perhaps one final time as the Storm looked to take the season series over the Las Vegas Aces. But they weren’t the only ones in a past-honoring mood — the Aces did a bit of their own tradition honoring.

In Bill Laimbeer fashion, Becky Hammon moved Dearica Hamby to the bench for the first time all season and instead sent out Kiah Stokes to roll with the starting unit. The new look gave the Aces a twin tower lineup at the 4 and 5 spots they’d become synonymous with over past seasons. But once the ball was tossed, the pregame irregularities diminished, and basketball was played in its traditional form.

Traditional form meant A’ja Wilson dusting off her end-of-game blunder in Dallas and returning to MVP form, which she did immediately to begin Sunday’s contest. Wilson’s 11 first-quarter points were one of the few bright spots of an otherwise brutal 19-point opening quarter of offense for the visiting Aces. But as a collective, the group eventually found its rhythm by the end of the half.

A slow start offensively also bogged down the Storm in Bird‘s farewell game, but unlike Vegas, Seattle‘s offense never came around. Jewell Loyd‘s season-low 1 point was a big reason for the offensive struggle, and only Tina Charles‘ 19 points were of any assistance to Breanna Stewart‘s MVP-like 35-point performance, which was still only enough to tally 81 Storm points in all. Still, Stewart‘s squad had a chance to steal the game down the stretch. But ultimately, there was just too much Chelsea Gray for the Storm to handle when it mattered most.

Gray, from all areas of the court, got to her spots, quarterbacked her teammates open, and almost single-handedly willed Vegas throughout the final frame to a much-needed win.

With a five-game road trip in the books, the Aces will head home to try and shore up their spot in the WNBA standings before the playoffs begin. They close out their regular-season schedule with three straight games at Michelob ULTRA Arena.

NOTES

• A lot of what went wrong for the Storm can be credited to the Aces‘ defense, which has dramatically turned a corner over the past few weeks. After Sunday’s 89-81 win, Vegas officially has had a top-3 defense in the WNBA since the All-Star Break.

• Dearica Hamby came off the bench for the first time all season. To her credit, she performed well and had some excellent moments. Also, Kiah Stokes was stellar in her first start.

Las Vegas will host Rhyne Howard and the Atlanta Dream on Tuesday, August 9th, at Michelob ULTRA Arena. The game will be important for both teams as the Aces are still pursuing the No. 1 seed while the Dream will look to lock up one of the final playoff spots. Follow the game live at 7 pm PST on CBS Sports Network, and then check back with us after the game for a recap.

Aces vs Storm                 Aces vs Storm                 Aces vs Storm                 Aces vs Storm                 Aces vs Storm                 Aces vs Storm              

-Cole Huff– Franchise Sports Media