Diggins-Smith’s big second half leads Storm past Aces 78-65

Skylar Diggins-Smith scored nine points to a pivotal 11-2 run as the Seattle Storm beat the Las Vegas Aces 78-65.

Jun 7, 2024, 9:43 PM

Seattle Storm guard Skylar Diggins-Smith...

Skylar Diggins-Smith of the Seattle Storm knocks the ball away from Kelsey Plum of the Las Vegas Aces during a 2024 game. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

(Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jewell Loyd had 25 points and nine rebounds, Skylar Diggins-Smith scored 19 of her 21 points in the second half to go with seven assists, and the Seattle Storm beat the Las Vegas Aces 78-65 on Friday night for their sixth straight victory.

Seattle Storm 78, Las Vegas Aces 65: Box Score

Diggins-Smith scored nine points during Seattle’s 11-2 run, including two 3-pointers, a three-point play and a nice pass to Nneka Ogwumike for a layup, to extend their lead to 74-61 with 2:01 left. Diggins-Smith capped the scoring with 14 seconds remaining.

Nneka Ogwumike and Ezi Magbegor each had a double-double for Seattle (7-3), which made 20 of 22 free throws. Magbegor had 14 points, 15 rebounds and five assists, and Ogwumike added 12 points and 11 boards.

Loyd reached double-digit scoring for the 51st straight game, extending the longest active streak. She also reached 5,000 career points.

Skylar Diggins-Smith is makin' BIG TIME plays in the 4Q 🗣️

SEA-LVA on ION as part of WNBA Commissioner's Cup presented by @coinbase pic.twitter.com/BHKBP8bVPI

— WNBA (@WNBA) June 8, 2024

A’ja Wilson had 29 points, 13 coming from the free throw line, and 11 rebounds for Las Vegas (5-3). Kelsey Plum added 18 points and Jackie Young, averaging 20.4 points, was just 1 of 12 from the field to finish with three points.

Seattle led 36-28 at halftime behind Loyd’s 15 points, and Magbegor’s 12 points and nine rebounds. The Aces were just 10 of 34 from the field (29%) in the first half with 10 turnovers. Plum led Las Vegas with 14 points, while Wilson was held to six on 2-of-7 shooting.

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