Aces vs. Storm: Jackie Young Ties WNBA Record for Points in a Quarter in 114-77 Rout

Some players need a quarter to warm up. Jackie Young used one quarter to rewrite the WNBA record book. In the Las Vegas Aces' first game back from the FIBA World Cup break, Young hit 8 of 9 shots in the opening period on Thursday night in Seattle and piled up 22 points before the Storm had found their footing, matching the league record for points in a single quarter.

By the end it was a 114-77 demolition at Climate Pledge Arena. Young finished with a career-high 35 points, A'ja Wilson added 29 without missing a free throw, and Las Vegas never trailed for a single second. Flau'jae Johnson scored 25 for Seattle, which fell to 8-33.

Twenty-Two and Counting

Stephanie Talbot opened the scoring with a 3-pointer, and that was the last time Seattle had a realistic chance to set the tone. According to the Aces' recap, the Storm missed their first seven shots and went just 4-of-19 from the field in the first quarter. They did hang around briefly, trailing 11-9 with roughly four and a half minutes left in the period. Then Young took over. She powered a 7-2 spurt for an 18-11 lead, and after Seattle sliced the margin to five, she scored the final seven points of the quarter all by herself. Las Vegas led 25-13 after one, and Young had 22 of the 25.

Seattle made a brief push early in the second, trimming it to 28-20, but Wilson went to work at the line. Four of her free throws ignited a 10-2 surge, and the lead never dipped back into single digits. It was 52-34 at halftime. The third quarter was actually Seattle's best, as the Storm hit better than 56 percent of their shots, but Las Vegas still won the period 33-29 and kept the margin between 18 and 25 the whole way.

Then the Aces went full fireworks show in the fourth. They shot 73.3 percent in the frame, won it 29-14 and got 10 points from Kalani Brown, who was playing her first game for Las Vegas, plus nine from Dana Evans on three 3-pointers. An 8-0 run midway through the quarter pushed the lead to 102-70, and the Aces' biggest lead of the night was the final margin: 37.

Young's Night, Wilson's Floor

Young's line was surgical: 35 points on 12-of-18 shooting, 4-of-10 from deep, 7-for-7 at the line and five assists. The Aces said her previous career high was 34, a number she had reached twice, and her old personal best for a single quarter was 21. The record she tied is shared by three players, Jewell Loyd, Brittney Sykes and Diana Taurasi, and here is the fun part: Loyd plays for the Aces and was on the floor in this game. Young now shares a slice of league history with her own teammate, which feels like premium material for the team group chat.

Wilson was her usual inevitable self. She scored 29 on 9-of-13 shooting, went 10-for-10 from the stripe and added seven rebounds, five assists and two blocks in 29 minutes. Per the team, her streak of double-figure scoring games now sits at a league-best 62 in a row. Chelsea Gray grabbed nine rebounds and handed out six assists, and Las Vegas had four players with at least five assists for only the sixth time in franchise history.

For Seattle, Johnson needed 21 shots to get her 25, making nine, including three from deep. Natisha Hiedeman chipped in 12 points with seven assists, Stefanie Dolson knocked down three triples for 11, and Dominique Malonga had 10. Jaylyn Sherrod was a pest on defense with five steals, but there was no stopping the avalanche.

The Turning Point: The First 10 Minutes

There was no dramatic fourth-quarter swing here. The game turned in the opening frame, when Young went 3-of-4 from deep and 3-for-3 at the line on top of her 8-of-9 shooting while the Storm could not buy a basket. Seattle went 0-for-5 from 3-point range in the first quarter, per the Aces, and no Storm player scored more than five in the period. A 12-point hole against a team shooting like this is a mountain, and the Aces kept adding altitude all night.

Stats That Matter

• 22: Young's first-quarter points, tying the WNBA record for points in a quarter.
• 114: The most points Las Vegas has scored since setting its franchise record with 118 in a win over Atlanta on July 4, 2021, according to the AP.
• 29 assists on 40 baskets: The Aces shared the ball as well as they shot it, finishing at 58 percent from the field to Seattle's 38.
• 12: Games of 100 or more points for the Aces this season, per the team, the most for any season in franchise history, topping the 11 by the 2023 club.
• 37: The final margin, the second-largest of the season for Las Vegas behind a 48-point win over Phoenix on July 11, per the Aces.

What It Means

The Aces moved to 28-13, 15-6 on the road, and have won four straight. Per the AP, Las Vegas sits a game and a half back of Golden State for second place and one game clear of Atlanta. That jockeying matters, because only the top four get home-court advantage in the best-of-three opening round.

Seattle dropped to 8-33, the worst record in the WNBA according to the AP, and has lost five of its last six. The Aces now lead the season series 2-0, and they will not have to wait long for a third look. The teams meet again Sunday in Las Vegas.

Closing Take

Young's first quarter was the basketball version of an artist dropping a surprise album the night the hiatus ends. No rollout, no warning, just 22 points and a share of a record. Wilson supplied the steady bassline, Brown and Evans handled the encore, and the Storm were left wondering how a game can be over before the first timeout. If this is what Las Vegas looks like after three weeks of rest, the rest of the bracket should be nervous.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details as reported by the Associated Press and the Las Vegas Aces.