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The Seattle Storm were doing a fine job keeping in step with reigning WNBA champions Las Vegas Aces during Game 1 of their playoff matchup on Sunday. That was until a brutal offensive drought hit Seattle in the fourth quarter.
The Storm had a one-point lead at the start of the final period but struggled to find their offense the rest of the way, as they ended up absorbing a 78-67 loss at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas.
How bad was the fourth quarter experience of the Storm? Seattle scored just two points in that frame — right up (or down) there as among the most putrid in WNBA postseason history.
“Context on the Seattle Storm’s 2-point 4th quarter today: It is tied for the fewest points for a team in a playoff quarter since 2006,” shared Alexa Philippou of ESPN.
“Their 0 FGs were the fewest in a WNBA postseason quarter also since 2006, per @ESPNStatsInfo,” added Philippou.
Storm doomed in Game 1 vs. the Aces by a cold spell in the fourth quarter
The Storm took 12 attempts from the field in the fourth quarter and made nothing out of it. Their only points in that frame came from the pair of free throws from veteran guard Skylar Diggins-Smith, who shot 0-for-3 from the field in the final period. Gabby Williams was also 0-for-3 in the same quarter while Jewell Lloyd was 0-for-2. It was a quarter to forget for Seattle, which added to their woes by turning the ball over six times in the fourth.
Meanwhile, the Aces took advantage of Seattle suddenly turning cold. Las Vegas shot just 38.9 percent from the floor in the fourth period but that was good enough to break away from the Storm. Seattle's struggles can also be attributed to the pesky defense of Las Vegas, which had six steals in the final 10 minutes of the series opener. A'ja Wilson led the way for Las Vegas, as the Aces star and newly-minted 2024 WNBA Most Valuable Player racked up 21 points on 9-of-21 shooting from the floor to go with eight rebounds, two assists, and five blocks in 36 minutes of action.
The Storm, which were paced by Diggins-Smith's 16 points in Game 1, have now lost all of their last three meetings with the Aces, dating back to the regular season. Seattle beat the Aces by 13 points in the first meeting of the 2024 campaign but has not solved Las Vegas since.
Perhaps positive regression will help the Storm in Game 2, where they will look to be more efficient on offense. With Seattle facing elimination this coming Tuesday, the likes of Diggins-Smith, Gabby Williams, and Nneka Ogwumike are all going to be under pressure to deliver the goods for their team.
Back in the regular season, the Storm were fifth in the WNBA with an average of 83.2 points per game and eighth with a 43.5 field goal shooting percecntage.
