Las Vegas Aces soar over Seattle Storm 78-67

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — One win down and seven to go, the Las Vegas Aces are 1-0 in postseason play

Though it wasn’t the prettiest win, the Las Vegas Aces beat the Seattle Storm 78-67 in game one of the first round of WNBA Playoffs on Sunday night.

“At the end of the day, it’s a win and it’s not going to be easy. We grinded that one out,” Aces head coach Becky Hammon said.

In the first quarter, Seattle quickly took the lead and separated themselves 18-9 at the end of the period. However, in the second quarter, the Aces made a comeback to tie up the game four times. But going into halftime, the Storm stayed ahead 42-38.

The Aces didn’t take a five-point lead until under fives minutes left in the game when Tiffany Hayes sank a bucket at the 4:51 mark to get ahead 70-65. The guard was the difference-maker coming off of the bench, scoring 20 points and recording five steals with a special supporter in the stands.

“I just want to shout out my momma’s here too,” Hayes said. “She was my coach growing up and she’s never flown before and she flew out here for the playoff game so I’m glad she was able to come.”

The 2024 WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson led the night for the two-time world champions with 21 points, eight boards and five blocks.

“It’s playoff basketball,” Wilson said. “It’s one of those moments where a lot of the stars are going to cancel out. A lot of things are going to happen but it’s the ones that people least expect that shine the brightest and that’s what I love about it cause it’s not just going to take one person. It’s going to take all of us, one through 12, and I think you saw that tonight.”

Up next: the Aces are back at Michelob ULTRA Arena for game two against Seattle on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.