Las Vegas Aces 'Raise The Stakes' With Game 1 Playoff Win Over Seattle Storm

The WNBA postseason began Sunday and it’s giving excitement, energy, and winning vibes for the Las Vegas Aces. 

The No. 2–seeded Aces won against the No. 7 Seattle Storm in the opener of their seventh consecutive WNBA playoff appearance on Sunday night. Michelob ULTRA Arena, inside Mandalay Bay, was filled with excited fans who are ready for an action-packed best-of-three series. Every seat in the arena had a white "Raise the Stakes" shirt on it to get attendees ready to cheer on their team!

It's now 17 and counting!

The Aces won their 17th consecutive game on Sunday night during their first playoff game against the Storm.

This Vegas winning streak is now the second-longest in league history. The 2001 Los Angeles Sparks had 18 in a row from June 26 to August 11, and the 2002-2003 Sparks had 18 consecutive victories from August 9, 2002, through June 14, 2003.

If they can keep their win streak up on Tuesday night in Seattle, they will advance to the semifinals. (If they lose to Seattle on Tuesday, game 3 will be played in Vegas on Thursday.)

A'ja Wilson finished Sunday's game with 29 points, Jackie Young added 18 points, Jewll Loyd had 14, Dana Evans scored 13, and NaLyssa Smith added 11 points.

The Aces 30-14 regular season record earned them the No. 2 seed in the postseason. They ended the second half of the season as the best team in the league with a season-best 16-0 winning streak, as well as the best record post All-Star break at 19-3. 

The Aces are firing on all cylinders. They finished the season in the top half of the league in points per game (83.6), blocks (4.9), 3-point shooting (.351), free throw percentage (.837), and free throws made (15.2). When it comes to clutch moments - games within five points in the final five minutes - they dominated with a 14-5 (.737) record.

Offensively, Las Vegas wrapped the season ranked No. 4, climbing all the way to No. 1 during their streak. Defensively, the Aces have been just as impressive, holding opponents under 80 points in 10 of their last 16 games and limiting teams to 23.7% from deep over the last 10.

It's giving MVP energy! Aces star player Wilson has been winning left and right, not only games, but also accolades.

Just this week, Wilson earned Western Conference Player of the Week honors, as well as the Associated Press Player of the Year.

"She's put in the work and she passes all the test - the math tests, the optics tests - she's the most exciting player in the W," Aces coach Becky Hammon told The Associated Press. "And here's the thing, she's also the most exciting player on the defensive end. She will do something once a game defensively that's going to get you out of your seat. She's the only player in this league that I've seen that has defensive highlights on a consistent basis."

On Friday, the league announced that Wilson was named the Western Conference Player of the Week for games played from Sept. 1 to 11. This is her 28th career Western Conference Player of the Week honor, and league leading sixth this season.

The Aces are on fire this season breaking records left and right.

"JY0's fourth steal tonight moves her into 2nd for most career playoff steals in franchise history!" an Instagram post revealed on Sunday night.

Fans are here for it and dropped into the comment section to share their thoughts.

"Records… after records… after records," one person wrote. Another said, "It's scary how good this lady is. It's even scarier that she's only gonna get better. My fav be knocking down records err night! LFG Jack!!"

During the game, the Aces shared that they helped donate to The Just One Project throughout the regular season. They captioned an Instagram post, "Together with @BetMGM, $8,650 has been donated to The Just One Project from the 173 steals made at The House in the regular season! The funds collected will be used to provide meals and supportive services to families in need in the Las Vegas area."

As The Blast reported earlier in the season, with every steal the team makes during a regular season home game, a donation of $50 will be made to Las Vegas-based nonprofit, The Just One Project.

The Just One Project uses the funds donated to provide groceries, vital resources like youth programs, housing assistance, and workforce development, to those in need in the community.

The Aces meet the Storm again on Tuesday night for game 2 of this series. If the Aces win, they advance to the semifinals, otherwise, game 3 will be played in Vegas at Michelob ULTRA Arena on Thursday, Sept. 18.

Let's go, Aces!