SEATTLE — After a demoralizing 81-59 loss to Phoenix to open the season, the Seattle Storm have flipped the script.
Seattle won their next two, taking down the upstart Dallas Wings 79-71 by withstanding some runs from No. 1 overall pick Paige Bueckers and company and winning a thriller over Phoenix, 77-70, to earn a measure of revenge.
Heading into a Sunday matchup with the team that eliminated it last postseason in the Las Vegas Aces, the Storm had plenty to prove. Former Storm No. 1 overall pick Jewell Loyd was traded to Las Vegas in February, making the rivalry game a homecoming for the six-time All-Star, who was honored pre-game.
Pre-game ahead of what should be a great early season matchup between the #Storm and #Aces.
It’ll mark the first time former Seattle No. 1 overall pick Jewell Loyd plays in Climate Pledge Arena as an opponent – Loyd was traded in February.
Loyd was just honored on the board. pic.twitter.com/7aGvRFumhh
— Qasim Ali (@qasimasports) May 25, 2025
Through their first three games, the Storm posted the second-worst offensive rating in the WNBA while the Aces had the lowest turnover average of any squad. That all changed when Seattle jumped out to a 58-36 lead at the end of the first half by shooting 67.6% and forcing eight Las Vegas turnovers, compared to their 9.7 season average.
Nneka Ogwumike finished with a game-high 23 points while Erica Wheeler added 21 on a night in which the Storm shot 60% from the field to win 102–82. The explosion was powered by swift ball movement, as the Storm compiled a season-high 32 assists on 42 makes to move to 3–1.
The win was also the first time Seattle downed Las Vegas in its last five tries.
Top performers:
⚡️Nneka Ogwumike: 23p, 8r, 6a
⚡️Erica Wheeler: 21p, 7a, 3r
⚡️Skylar Diggins: 10p, 8a“We’re putting everyone on notice.”
– Wheeler in the postgame interview.
— Qasim Ali (@qasimasports) May 25, 2025
“We’re putting everyone on notice,” Wheeler declared to the home crowd in a postgame interview.
Scoring in triple figures was a far cry from what the Storm had been accustomed to, but it was all sparked by defense, according to head coach Noelle Quinn.
The Storm held perennial MVP candidate A’ja Wilson to 15 points as the Aces shot 43% from the field.
“To have a 34-point (first) quarter, it wasn’t just the offense, it was the defense igniting the crowd and the energy that it created,” Quinn said.
Ezi Macbegor (12 points, 7 rebounds), a three-time All-Defensive team selection, is no stranger to locking opponents down as she and Ogwumike took turns defending Wilson. Wheeler and Gabby Williams (12 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists) each made show-stopping defensive plays as well, as Wheeler ripped Wilson during a post-up to completely swing momentum to Seattle in the second quarter.
From there, the Storm rebounded like their lives depended on it. Williams tipped a few potential Las Vegas offensive boards toward her teammates and the Storm collectively boxed out aggressively, winning the boards 34–25.
“We want to be able to play transition D, and quarter-court defense, but it’s really meaningless if we don’t seal it with a rebound,” Ogwumike said, as Quinn emphasized pre-game the importance of improving their activity on the glass. “In the first three games, even the ones that we won, teams were out-rebounding us. And so we wanted to be able to capitalize on that.”
No. 2 overall pick Dominque Malonga got a chance to show off her skillset after averaging five minutes to start the season. The French phenom posted eight points and five rebounds in just 12 minutes — including a breakaway layup in which the entire crowd thought she’d dunk for the first time.
Although the Storm earned a commanding lead by the end of the first two frames, Loyd scored the first nine points for Las Vegas. She started 3-for-4 from range, but Seattle put an end to that run by working through off-ball screens to contest her looks better. Loyd would finish 3-for-8 from 3-point territory with 14 points.
With all the history between these teams, including a messy departure from Seattle for Loyd, Quinn still approached it like any other game.
“The focus today was us. It was the Storm vs. the Aces,” Quinn said. “We knew we were playing a very good team … the focus remains us.”
The Storm will get another tough test as it gets set to take on an undefeated Minnesota Lynx squad and star Napheesa Collier on Tuesday.
This story originally appeared at qasimsports.medium.com. Follow Qasim Ali on X.com at @qasimasports.
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