Kelsey Plum matched her career playoff high with 29 points on Tuesday night 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.
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.
–Field Level Media
