Aces battle adversity in Game 1 win, look to clinch series

Becky Hammon didn’t want to say it. A’ja Wilson begged her not to. Tiffany Hayes even put her hand over her coach’s mouth.

“I know you guys don’t want me to talk about this, but A’ja shooting two free throws,” Hammon said.

“Stop, we talked about this,” Wilson interjected in a joking tone.

“And Jackie (Young) shooting zero,” Hammon said before finishing her sentence.

No-calls and fewer free throws are the norm in playoff basketball. The Aces know that all too well with how the past two seasons have gone, so it’s not the first time they dealt with it.

Much was the same in their 78-67 win over the Seattle Storm on Sunday in Game 1 of their WNBA playoff first-round series at Michelob Ultra Arena. They got to the basket plenty, but the calls they got in the regular season weren’t there.

The Aces got to the free throw line 11 times, making all of them.

They fought their way to a victory that saw them score nine points in the first quarter, shoot less than 38 percent in the first half and trail for most of three quarters. They now can close out the best-of-3 series with a home victory Tuesday.

Fourth-quarter defense

The Aces’ defense came through again, even in the adversity of those tightly called games. They held the Storm to two points in the fourth quarter, and Seattle shot 0-of-12.

“I think we over-analyzed a lot of stuff because we were just waiting and waiting, and it forced us to not dictate actions and just reacting,” said Wilson, the now three-time league MVP. “In these moments, we have to stay within our system and our identity and trust that it’s going to get us the win and trust one another.”

It’s not as if the game was one-sided with foul discrepancy. The Storm had two more free-throw attempts than the Aces, going 13-for-13.

In terms of production, the Aces didn’t get that from their stars early on.

Wilson shot 1-of-8 in the first half before erupting for 15 third-quarter points. Guard Kelsey Plum missed her first seven shots before getting on the board in the fourth quarter. Young had just four shot attempts in the first half.

Bench play pivotal

The game turned in the second quarter when the Aces’ bench took over.

Hayes scored 12 of her 20 points in the second quarter, and reigning Sixth Player of the Year Alysha Clark scored all seven of her points in the quarter to help rally the Aces.

“Having my experience and being surrounded by people with experience, lots of playoff experience, lots of winning experience, I’m grateful to be surrounded by that,” Hayes said. “Even if I fall off the track, I have them to pull me right back up.”

Hammon praised Clark for her work in the first half. Despite recording just one rebound, her hustle to loose balls helped when the Aces started the game “a step slow.”

It was at that point Hammon threw the playbook out the window and let the Aces play freely.

“At this point in the season, one of our best plays was the no play. Don’t call the play,” she said. “You’re so scouted, what they can’t do is make reads and you cut for each other and screen for each other, because these are basketball options that are going to give something up. It puts the defense in a dilemma.”

Hammon called this season her most tumultuous with the Aces. That’s not surprising given the Aces are the No. 4 seed and won’t have home-court advantage if the top four seeds advance.

“The key with champions is being able to take a hit, get back up and keep moving forward,” she said.

Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.