Las Vegas Aces vs Seattle Storm - WNBA Game 42 - 2026 | Sweepin' Seattle

A’ja Wilson Makes History Again as the Aces Bury the Storm 98-77 to Finish the Season Sweep

There are blowouts, and then there are statement nights, and the Las Vegas Aces turned Sunday evening into the latter. Las Vegas ran the Seattle Storm off the floor 98-77 at Michelob ULTRA Arena to complete a season sweep, and they did it while A’ja Wilson made history, once again. Wilson poured in a game-high 30 points and pulled down a game-high 8 rebounds, and somewhere in the second quarter she became the only player in WNBA history to cross 1,000 points in a single season more than once. Jackie Young was every bit her running mate with 23 points and a game-high 8 assists, while Chelsea Gray chipped in 15 points to go with 4 assists and 4 rebounds. The victory lifts the Aces to 29-13 and keeps their late-season push poppin’; Seattle, meanwhile, slips to 8-35. Flau’jae Johnson did everything she could with a team-high 29 for the visitors, and Dominique Malonga added 25, but this one was decided WAY before the fourth quarter.

Game Summary: Las Vegas Aces vs Seattle Storm

First Quarter

Seattle looked the part early, jumping out to an 8-3 lead with just over seven minutes to play in the opening quarter and stretching it to 10-6 a beat later. Then the roof caved in. Las Vegas answered with a scorching 21-2 run, and it was a true group effort: four made 3-pointers from three different shooters, with Young doing the heavy lifting for 12 of her points in the period alone while Gray and Wilson kept the ball slanging around the perimeter. By the time the dust settled, the Aces led 27-12, having smothered the Storm into eight straight misses across a brutal five-minute stretch of defense.

Seattle at least beat the buzzer, dropping a 3 in the last seconds of the quarter to trim the deficit to 11. The shooting numbers tell the whole story, though: the Aces shot 64.7 percent (11-17) from the floor and 55.6 percent (5-9) from deep, while the visitors managed just 40 percent (8-20) overall and went 2-of-6 from beyond the arc. Young’s dozen led everyone on the floor, and Johnson kept Seattle within distance with a quarter-high 9. The Aces also owned the hustle categories, forcing rushed Seattle possessions and turning stops into transition points at the other end.

Second Quarter

If the Aces expected the second quarter to be a coast, Seattle had other ideas, opening with a 13-4 run to cut the deficit to two at 33-31 near the midpoint of the period. Young stopped the bleeding with a floater that kick-started a 12-6 Las Vegas spurt, with eight of those points coming from Wilson, who was busy making history in the middle of it all. At the 4:06 mark, A’ja Wilson scored her ninth point of the night to reach 1,000 for the season, becoming the only player in league history to hit that number in a single campaign more than once.

Seattle refused to fold and ripped off the next six points, but Las Vegas slammed the half shut with a 7-0 flurry to take a 52-43 cushion into the locker room. The splits cooled down from that high-powered opening: the Aces hit 46.2 percent (6-13) but just 16.7 percent (1-6) from deep, leaning instead on a 90.9 percent (10-11) night at the free-throw line. Seattle actually shot it better at 58.8 percent (10-17) overall, yet went only 1-of-5 from three and could not keep pace with the Aces down the stretch of the half. Malonga and Wilson, who went 8-for-8 from the line, led all scorers with 12 apiece heading into the break.

Third Quarter

The third quarter settled into a grind, with Las Vegas holding a comfortable lead until Seattle found some life. An 8-4 Storm push cut the lead to 60-54, and the cheeks in the seats at Michelob Ultra Arena got a little tight. Las Vegas steadied with a 7-2 answer, only for Seattle to rattle off the next five points and pull within 67-61 with just over three minutes left in the period. That, as it turned out, was as close as the visitors would get all night. The Aces slammed the door by outscoring Seattle 9-3 the rest of the way to shove the lead back to double digits at 76-64. Wilson again led the charge with 10 in the quarter, and Johnson answered with a quarter-high 9 for the Storm to keep her team from disappearing entirely.

The efficiency dipped for both sides: Las Vegas connected on 43.8 percent (7-16) and 40 percent from deep, while Seattle managed only 31.2 percent (5-16) and 3-of-9 from distance. Both teams were a clean 8-of-10 at the line. It was a quarter that offered Seattle just enough hope to stay interested and never quite enough to actually threaten, which had basically been the pattern of the entire evening. Gray, meanwhile, kept quietly stacking her resume, having entered the night ranked 26th all-time in league steals and climbing another pedestal by game’s end.

Fourth Quarter

With the outcome no longer in any real doubt, the fourth quarter became a showcase for the Aces’ depth. Las Vegas pushed the lead to as many as 21 points and never let Seattle mount anything resembling a comeback, ultimately winning the period 22-13. Ta’Niya Latson provided the spark off the bench, pouring in a quarter-high 8 points to lead all scorers down the closing stretch. She was far from alone: Cheyenne Parker-Tyus and Mai Yamamoto each finished with 8 points, part of a reserve unit that thoroughly outscored Seattle’s bench 28-13.

The Aces starters got to watch the finish like it was NFL Sunday Ticket, towels draped over shoulders. Las Vegas shot 47.1 percent (8-17) in the quarter and 50 percent from beyond the arc, while the defense clamped down hard, holding the Storm to 27.8 percent (5-18) shooting and a single make in six 3-point tries. Johnson led Seattle again with 6, but by then the visitors were simply playing out the string. It was a fitting close to a wire-to-wire beatdown: the Aces got contributions up and down the roster, took care of the ball, and sent the home crowd home happy with a 98-77 final that completed the season sweep of a Storm team that has now dropped 35 games on the year.

Bottom Line

The bottom line: this was a complete team performance dressed up by a historic individual one. Wilson’s second 1,000-point season, a feat no one else in league history has ever managed, headlined a night stuffed with milestones. She reached the mark at the 4:06 mark of the second quarter and finished the year with 1,021 points, and she remains the fastest to 1,000, needing just 37 games back in 2024. It was also her league-leading 12th 30-point game of the season and the 49th of her career, second all-time only to Diana Taurasi‘s 54, while her streak of double-figure scoring games climbed to a league-best 63 in a row.

Jackie Young was quietly excellent in her own right, topping 20 points for the 24th time this year and the 80th time in her career, and Gray slid past a pair of legends into 24th place on the all-time steals list. As for how Las Vegas actually won this thing: it wasn’t on the glass, where Seattle held a 35-28 rebounding edge, or in the paint, where the Storm outscored them 36 to 30. It was everywhere else that mattered. Las Vegas buried 11 threes to Seattle’s 7, shot 82.1 percent from the line to the Storm’s 73.7, converted a season-high 27 fast break points and 25 points off turnovers into a runaway, and piled up 13 steals too. When you win the margins by that much, the final ends up looking exactly like this one did.

TOP PERFORMERS

TEAM STATS

Points in the Paint: LVA 30, SEA 36 | Second Chance: LVA 4, SEA 12 | Fast Break: LVA 27, SEA 8 | Off Turnovers: LVA 25, SEA 15 | Bench: LVA 28, SEA 13

Next up: The Aces close their regular-season home slate on Tuesday, September 22, when they host the Los Angeles Sparks (16-26) at 7 p.m. on ESPN. It doubles as the Aces’ annual Fan Appreciation Night, presented by Ally.

Franchise Sports Media. Las Vegas sports news about Las Vegas Sports teams.

— TQ (@tqthetrojan) for Franchise Sports Media

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