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The home cooking kept the Las Vegas Aces steamrolling through the competition as they added yet another win inside the Michelob Ultra Arena.
Las Vegas beat Seattle for the second time through the first 10 games of the season, this time by a final score of 96-63. Earlier this year, the Aces beat the Storm by 41 points to open the year.
The win also runs the team’s stretch of scoring 90 or more points to eight through the first 10 games of the year.
“I thought we put together a good game,” head coach Becky Hammon said. “[It was] nice to hit shots and get going offensively a little bit. Overall, a really solid win.”
Overall, Las Vegas is now 9-1 on the year with a perfect 4-0 mark from The House. The team will put its unbeaten home record on the line Sunday, June 18 when it welcomes in Minnesota for a second time this season.
The Aces won the first meeting by 21 points in late May.
Las Vegas used a 16-4 run to close the first half in order to take control of the game, running its lead to double-digits. About midway through the second quarter with Seattle up two, Hammon opted to take a timeout in order to inspire her group.
“Whenever we can play out of our defense we want to do that,” Hammon said. “Sometimes when you haven’t seen a team in a while and I was trying to prepare them the best that I could that this is not the same team that they saw the first game of the season.”
With the furious close to the quarter, the Aces turned in their second straight 30 or more point second quarter in their last two outings. Initially, Las Vegas went on a 5-0 run out of the aforementioned timeout to suck some of the energy away from Seattle.
A major turning point of the second quarter was the return to defensive principles for the Aces which led to five forced turnovers in the second 10-minute session. In addition, the team cut down its turnover output from seven in the opening quarter to just two in the second.
“They just started playing out of their defense,” Hammon said. “When they do that, they become really elite. You know everybody talks about offense but I want people to start talking about our defense.”
With a 10-point halftime lead, the Aces increased their lead to 15 points by the end of the third quarter and would build a lead as large as 33 points before the final buzzer on the heels of a 29 to 11 fourth quarter.
Las Vegas won the second half by 23 points while holding Seattle to just 26 points after halftime.
Guard Jackie Young led all scorers with 28 points on 12-of-18 shooting to go along with two rebounds and a steal. She finished just two points shy of tying her career-high of 30 points.
“I think it was just important that we stopped turning the ball over,” Young said. “That was the biggest thing for us. Continue to get stops and pick up our pace, my teammates were just able to find me [because] they were doubling them and I was the one left open.”
After a four-point first quarter, Young got things going in the second quarter with back-to-back made field goals followed by her lone steal of the game in a three-play span on her way to nine points in the frame.
She compounded her performance with back-to-back three-point field goals coming out of the halftime break. By the final buzzer, she’d drain four of her seven three-point attempts.
“When somebody’s rocking and rolling like Jackie, you’ve got to get her the basketball,” forward A’ja Wilson said. “You’ve got to feed the beast at that point. We did it, she executed and she had a tremendous game through and through.”
Fellow guards Kelsey Plum added 19 points on 7-of-12 from the field including three made threes. She ended the night with a +28 plus/minus which is just two points off from teammate Candace Parker for the game-high.
Wilson recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
“Becky cussed me out for not rebounding,” Wilson said. “I’m glad I could come out and get 12 rebounds.”
Second-year guard Kierstan Bell scored 12 points off-the-bench in just under 13 minutes of action on the floor. The 12 points ties a career-high which she posted in late May against the Los Angeles Sparks.
“KB has been slowly just playing the right way,” Hammon said. “Whatever minutes she’s gotten, she’s been super solid and that’s how you gain trust with myself [and] that’s how you gain trust with your teammates.”
Guard Chelsea Gray led all players with nine assists to go along with eight points, four rebounds and three steals.
“That’s just Chelsea being Chelsea,” Hammon said. “She’s always reading and dissecting the game. Like I told her and I told my team, ‘If she calls something, do what she says. She’s an extension of a coach out there.’”