Jackie Young tied the WNBA record for most points in a quarter, 22, and finished with a career-high 35 as the defending champion Las Vegas Aces began their tuneup for the playoffs with a 114-77 rout of the host Seattle Storm on Thursday.
Four-time MVP A’ja Wilson totaled 29 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Aces (28-13) in their return to the court following a 19-day break for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup. Reserves Dana Evans and Kalani Brown scored 10 apiece.
Rookie Flau’jae Johnson led the Storm (8-33) with 25 points. Natisha Hiedeman, who missed the previous four games with a shoulder injury, added 12 points and seven assists. Stefanie Dolson scored 11 off the bench and Dominique Malonga had 10 points and six rebounds.
Young, who helped Team USA win the World Cup, scored 22 of the Aces’ 25 points in the first quarter, matching a mark set by Phoenix’s Diana Taurasi in 2006 and equaled by Atlanta’s Brittney Sykes in 2019 and Seattle’s Jewell Loyd in 2021.
Las Vegas’ Stephanie Talbot opened the scoring with a 3-pointer, and then Young did the rest, making 8 of 9 field-goal attempts in the quarter. She was 3 of 4 from 3-point range and added three free throws in as many attempts. Her step-back 3-pointer with two seconds left gave the Aces a 25-13 lead.
Young sat on the bench for the opening 3:10 of the second quarter and had just two points in the period — a pair of free throws with 1:17 to go — as Las Vegas extended its advantage to 52-34 at the half.
She came out hot again in the third, scoring seven points in the opening 4:15, when she made a 3-pointer to give the Aces a 68-46 lead. She eclipsed her career high of 34 points by the end of the period as Las Vegas took an 85-63 advantage into the final quarter.
The Aces shot 58% from the field, making 40 of 69 attempts, and were 13 of 28 (46.4%) from 3-point range. The Storm shot 38% (27 of 71) and were 8 of 27 (29.7%) from long distance.
The Aces have three more games remaining in the regular season, including a rematch with the Storm on Sunday in Las Vegas.
–Field Level Media
