The Seattle Storm began their quest to repeat as WNBA champion with a 97-83 win over the Las Vegas Aces in a rematch of the 2020 WNBA Finals.
Breanna Stewart, the reigning WNBA Finals MVP, led the way with 28 points and 13 rebounds. Jewell Lloyd tacked on 22 points and six assists, while WNBA career assists leader Sue Bird finished with 11 points, eight assists and five rebounds.
A’Ja Wilson, last season’s MVP, did everything possible to push Las Vegas to a victory. She scored 24 points, adding on five rebounds and four assists. The Aces’ other star, Liz Cambage, had 16 points and five rebounds.
This game followed a similar formula to the Chicago Sky-Washington Mystics game with the hotly contested first quarter followed by a run in the ensuing quarters that subsequently blew the game wide open. But in this matchup, Seattle hit its stride on a big third-quarter run.
After the Aces snuffed out Seattle’s run in the second quarter, turning a 14-point deficit into a six-point game, the Storm responded after halftime. Seattle opened the second half on a 10-0 run, paving the way to a decisive victory.
The Storm had a brief scare in the fourth quarter when Bird seemed to suffer a knee injury after clashing with Cambage. Fortunately, she returned to the court in the closing minutes and shouldn’t miss any time.