Howard has 21 points and 10 rebounds, Storm beat Aces
SEATTLE (AP) — Natasha Howard had 21 points, 10 rebounds, six blocks and four steals and the Seattle Storm beat the Las Vegas Aces 69-66 on Friday night for their fourth straight victory.
Howard is playing amid her wife's social media allegations of physically threatening and abusive behavior. No charges have been filed against Howard.
Howard filed for divorce Monday and said in a statement provided by her lawyer Tuesday night that she's prepared to cooperate with the Storm's investigation as well as that of the WNBA.
The Aces (11-6) had their five-game winning streak end despite holding the defending champion Storm (12-8) to a season-low 28% shooting and no field goals over the final seven minutes. What the Storm did do is grab a franchise record 18 steals, the second most in the league this season. Jordin Canada, the league leader, had five.
After Crystal Langhorne's layup put Seattle up 61-53 with 7:13 to play, the Storm missed 10 straight shots and had three shot-clock violations. Langhorne's two free throws at 6:39 made it 63-55.
Liz Cambage's basket with 1:02 to play pulled the Aces to 63-61. Canada twice made a pair of free throws sandwiched around Kayla McBride's 3-pointer for a 67-64 lead with 19.3 seconds to go. Cambage scored inside before Howard made two free throws at 11.4 but Las Vegas could not make a tying shot.
Cambage had 16 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks for the Aces. They finished with 21 turnovers.
Jewell Loyd returned to the Storm after missing seven games with an ankle injury. She did not score in 8 1/2 minutes. The Aces lost Aja Wilson with a left leg injury midway through the third quarter.
