Nneka Oguwmike scored 23 points and Erica Wheeler added 21 as the Seattle Storm turned a fast start into an easy 102-82 victory over the visiting Las Vegas Aces on Sunday in the return of Jewell Loyd to the Pacific Northwest.
Gabby Williams and Ezi Magbegor each scored 12 points and Skylar Diggins added 10 points with eight assists for the Storm (3-1). Ogwumike had eight rebounds to reach the 3,000 mark in her career while Magbegor had seven rebounds to move her past 1,000.
The Storm had 32 assists on 42 made baskets, which ranks as the third-most assists in a game in Seattle history.
Loyd scored 14 points in her first game at Seattle since joining the Aces in a trade during the offseason. Loyd averaged 16.9 points in 330 games with Seattle and was a two-time WNBA champion, the 2015 Rookie of the Year and a six-time All-Star.
A’ja Wilson scored 15 points for Las Vegas (2-2) and Jackie Young added 14.
The Storm set the tone early and took a 30-18 lead with 1:46 remaining in the first quarter on a 3-pointer from Alysha Clark. Seattle had an assist on each of its first 12 baskets while going 13 of 19 (68.4 percent) from the floor in the first quarter to grab a 34-20 lead.
Loyd enjoyed a hot start as well with 12 first-quarter points while making all three of her 3-point attempts, but she went 0 of 10 from the floor in the final three quarters.
Ogwumike went 7 of 8 from the field in the first half and scored 15 points as Seattle led 58-36 at halftime. The Storm led by as many as 24 points in the first half, when they shot 67.6 percent.
Seattle cruised to victory the rest of the way, finishing with a 34-25 rebounding advantage while shooting 60.0 percent overall and 8 of 16 from long range.
–Field Level Media
