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SEATTLE — Jewell Loyd came out hot in her return Sunday to Climate Pledge Arena for the first time since requesting a trade that sent her to the Las Vegas Aces, but the remaining members of the Seattle Storm ended up stealing the show in an impressive 102-82 victory.
Loyd’s first game back in Seattle, where she played a decade after being drafted No. 1 in 2015 and won a pair of championships, was an obvious storyline. And there was emotion during warmups, when the Storm played a tribute video to the six-time All-Star who left as the franchise’s third-leading scorer. Fans responded with a standing ovation after the video and again when Loyd was introduced with the Aces’ starters.
“The fans have always been really great here,” Loyd said afterward. “You know, obviously, you spend 10 years somewhere you meet a lot of people and you have a lot of relationships. So it was nice to see my family out there as well. My dad came. It’s cool.”
Although Loyd said she saw parts of the video while being celebrated by her new Las Vegas teammates, she wanted to avoid getting caught up in the moment.
“I really tried to focus on the game as much as possible and not get too emotional here or there,” she said, “but I appreciate it.”
On the other side, Seattle coach Noelle Quinn was delivering a similar message.
“The focus today was us,” Quinn said postgame. “It was the Storm vs. the Aces and we knew we were playing a very good team. We have vets in the room who have been in different types of environments. Our theme last game was discipline, and if we’re talking about getting better, I don’t think there was any drop-off in that. The focus remains us.”
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In a rematch of last year’s matchup in the first round of the playoffs that resulted in a 2-0 Vegas sweep, the Storm ended up making a statement. Loyd scored the Aces’ first nine points, making a pair of 3-pointers and completing a three-point play, but Seattle’s free-flowing offense matched Loyd point for point.
After Loyd’s hot start, the Storm shifted ace defender Gabby Williams as her primary matchup. Loyd made four of her first five shots, then missed her final 10, scoring only two of her 14 points after the first quarter. With MVP A’ja Wilson struggling to deal with Seattle’s extra defensive attention — she had 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting — the Aces never found a foothold in the game until rookie Elizabeth Kitley sparked a 7-0 run in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 20.
“We showed what we can do, our potential at both ends of the floor,” said Quinn, who called Las Vegas “measuring sticks” in the wake of its two championships in the past three years.
The Storm put up 34 points in the first quarter and finished the game in triple-digits for the first time since last May. Seattle shot 60% from the field, including 8-of-16 from 3-point range, and had 32 assists on 42 field goals.
Everything worked, starting with ball movement that picked apart the Aces’ defense and created repeated open looks. Per website Across the Timeline, the four Seattle players who finished with at least 10 points and five assists (Williams, Skylar Diggins, Nneka Ogwumike and reserve Erica Wheeler) tied a WNBA record.
To Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon, Seattle’s success on offense was an indictment of her team’s defense, which she described multiple times as “undisciplined” for emphasis.
“The effort wasn’t there, the discipline wasn’t there,” Hammon said. “We’re breaking our own rules. Until the system is ran correctly, it’s really hard to make adjustments because you don’t know if Plan A is going to work.”
Ogwumike, who became the 11th player in WNBA history to reach 3,000 career rebounds, scored 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Wheeler came off the bench to score 21 points, matching her most in a game since 2021. No. 2 pick Dominique Malonga, taken with the selection the Storm received in the three-team deal that sent Loyd to the Aces, made her biggest impact yet at age 19. Coming in to match up with Kitley, who is also listed at 6-foot-6, Malonga had eight points and five rebounds.
“I thought Dom was excellent in her minutes,” Quinn said.
By the late stages, the biggest question was whether Malonga might be able to dunk in a game for the first time in her brief WNBA career. A late opportunity in transition turned into a layup when Malonga bobbled the outlet pass from Zia Cooke.
Certainly, Sunday wasn’t the triumphant return Vegas teammates wanted for Loyd.
“It sucks,” Wilson said, remaining positive after the Aces dropped to 2-2 for their worst start since 2021. “Honestly, I wanted to win for Jewell and everyone else that came out and supported us, but it’s a part of the game. We’re going to go back and try it again. We’re going to go out there and hopefully have a better showing.”
The Aces are off until Friday, and Loyd will return to Seattle again soon. The teams play at Climate Pledge Arena next Sunday.
