The Seattle Storm made it a perfect 4-0 in WNBA Finals appearances on Tuesday night, when they beat the Las Vegas Aces 92-59 at the IMG Basketall Gymnasium in Bradenton, Florida. The Storm wins the best of five series 3-0.
Former University of Connecticut standout forward Breanna Stewart led the way to finish off the sweep with 26 points. Jewell Loyd added 19 points and nine rebounds, and Jordin Canada chipped in 15 points and five rebounds. Also former Connecticut Huskies guard and 39 year old WNBA veteran Sue Bird played some solid minutes and contributed five points and seven assists in 22 minutes. Bird has played on each of the four championship teams (2004, 2010, 2018, 2020). Stewart and Bird both missed the entire 2019 season with serious injuries, but Stewart garnered the Finals MVP and Bird had a WNBA Finals record 16 assists in the game one win for Seattle.
The league MVP for the 2020 season A’ja Wilson led Las Vegas in defeat with 18 points, and Carolyn Swords added six points and 10 rebounds. The outcome of the series could of been different if not for the coronavirus pandemic. The Aces leading rebounder and second leading scorer in 2019, Liz Cambage, opted out for the season due to health concerns. The two teams finished with the same record in the regular season at 18-4, with Las Vegas taking the top seed and Seattle the second seed but both earning an automatic trip to the conference semifinals. The Aces defeated the Connecticut Sun 3-2 in their semifinal matchup, while the Storm took out the Minnesota Lynx in a three game sweep. Las Vegas finishes their season at 21-9, while Seattle goes a perfect 6-0 in the playoffs to finish 24-4. They join the now defunct Houston Comets and the Lynx as the only teams to win four championships since the league was founded in 1997. The first season in 97 was just a one game playoff for the title. The format then changed to a best of three in 1998, and then to the current format of best of five in 2005.
