May 25, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; The official Wilson basketball with the WNBA logo goes through the net during the game between the LA Sparks and the Las Vegas Aces at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports A’ja Wilson recorded her first career 20-20 game and Jackie Young scored 17 of her team-best 27 points in the third quarter Wednesday as the Las Vegas Aces rallied from a six-point halftime deficit for an 84-79 victory over the host Seattle Storm.
Wilson added 24 points and a career-high 20 rebounds for Las Vegas (14-7), which won for the eighth time in nine games. Wilson thrived despite missing the third quarter after an accidental elbow left his nose bloody. Kelsey Plum had 13 points and Chelsea Gray had 11.
Jewell Loyd scored 28 points for Seattle (14-8), which lost for just the second time in seven games. Skylar Diggins-Smith added 16 points and eight assists, while Ezi Magbegor contributed 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The Storm got back to within 82-79 on three free throws from Loyd with 45 seconds left, then forced a miss to get the ball back. They had two chances to tie on their second-to-last possession, but Nneka Ogwumike and Loyd both missed three-pointers. Wilson grabbed a rebound and sealed the game by making two free throws with 2.3 seconds left.
The third meeting of the season between the two teams was dominated in the first half by the Seattle defense. The peculiarity of this meeting is that it did not do it in the usual way (via interceptions and blocks) but by causing one miss after another.
Las Vegas shot just 6 of 22 in the first quarter and trailed 17-13, then trailed 28-20 at 6:22 of the second when Loyd hit a 3-pointer. Loyd made two free throws with 3.4 seconds left in the half to give the Storm a 36-30 lead at the break.
But the game took a turn in the third quarter, with Young’s hand giving the Aces the win. Young scored 10 points in less than three minutes, giving them the lead for good on a three-pointer with 4:32 left, and leading them to a 60-55 advantage at the end of the fourth period.
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