Champion Aces see off Storm, set semi vs. Liberty
USA TODAY
Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum drives to the basket against Chicago Sky guard Lindsay Allen on Aug. 25.
Kelsey Plum matched her career playoff high with 29 points tonight while WNBA Most Valuable Player A’ja Wilson added a double-double as the fourth-seeded Las Vegas Aces beat the visiting Seattle Storm 83-76 for a two-game quarterfinal sweep.
The two-time defending league champion Aces will start a best-of-five semifinal series Sunday on the road against the top-seeded New York Liberty. Las Vegas lost all three games in the regular-season series with New York but looked more like its championship self down the stretch, going 9-1 to end the campaign.
Plum hit 11 of 15 shots from the field, while Wilson added 24 points and a game-high 13 rebounds as the Aces dominated the glass, 45-30. Las Vegas’ Chelsea Gray contributed 12 points and nine assists.
Gabby Williams scored 20 points to lead fifth-seeded Seattle, while Nneka Ogwumike added 16 points and 10 rebounds. Ezi Magbegor returned from missing the previous four games with a concussion and tallied 14 points. Skylar Diggins-Smith chipped in 13 points and 10 assists.
The Storm took their only lead of the night with 7:58 left in the game on a putback by Mercedes Russell, but Las Vegas quickly regained control with seven straight points. Jackie Young scored in transition for a 71-65 advantage with 6:05 remaining, and the Aces stayed in front from there.
Las Vegas got off to a strong start in its bid to eliminate Seattle, with Plum and Wilson each putting up 12 points in the first quarter. The Aces led 23-7 less than five minutes into the game before settling for a 30-20 advantage going into the second quarter.
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Seattle controlled most of the second period, edging within 39-38 on Magbegor’s layup at the 2:21 mark. However, the Aces rallied for the last six points of the first half, with Wilson canning two foul shots with 2.8 seconds left to make it 45-38 at the break.
The Storm tied the game twice in the first four minutes of the third quarter, but Las Vegas fought back for a 57-51 lead on Wilson’s layup with 3:05 remaining. Plum’s floater with 6.8 seconds on the clock gave the Aces a 62-57 edge going into the fourth period.
