Aces close strong to win Game 1 against Seattle in WNBA playoffs

At team dinner at Mastro's Ocean Club ahead of the Las Vegas Aces first-round playoff matchup against the Seattle Storm Tiffany Hayes shared with her teammates that her mom would be at the game.

The 12-year WNBA veteran has had her mother at games before, but this game was different as she was flying for the first time to see Hayes play.

Hayes made the trip worth it for her mother, scoring 20 points off the bench to power the Aces to a Game 1 win over the Seattle Storm, 78-67, on Sunday.

"Being here, surrounded by people with experience in the playoffs and winning, I'm just grateful to be surrounded by that," Hayes said. "Even if I fall off a track a little bit, I have them (the Aces) to pull me right back up."

This is the first time in her long career that she's come off the bench as she's started everywhere else, but she continues to execute when her number is called upon.

In her last three games, she's averaged 17 points, starting the final game of the regular season against the Dallas Wings where the Aces did not play their core four.

In addition to her presence on the court, she has been a constant source of energy and support in the locker room. A'ja Wilson, who has been the locker room leader since she came to Las Vegas, said Hayes has been the one that pulls them (the Aces) up.

"She (Hayes) reels us in. She gets us going," Wilson said. "Her energy is always there and it picks us up. She's our game changer. She's really one of our X factors when it comes to just when we need anything."

In a hopeful deep playoff run, Hayes could be a critical piece to a third-straight WNBA Championship for the Aces. When Aces coach Becky Hammon reached out to Hayes in May she said she was "shooting her shot."

Hayes had announced her retirement in December, but Hammon claims that her retirement statement read in a way where Hayes wasn't completely out of playing.

"Her statement said a lot and I'll keep that to myself, but when she said how she was retiring, and she never says from basketball," Hammon said. "I was like, You know what? She's still probably in great shape...so I was like, let's go."

Hayes begged to differ on Hammon's belief that she wasn't fully retired.

"I want to know what you talking about," Hayes said. "I was ge-zone, coach"

In late September, the Aces are grateful to have a veteran, depth piece like Hayes, especially in a game where the Aces struggled to get going on offense.

The team shot for just 11% and nine points in the first quarter and Wilson had just four points by halftime. When the starters were struggling to get points and stops, Hayes was the one stay consistent on both ends of the court.

However, an emphasis on defensive improvement saw the team's production and Wilsons skyrocket in the second half.

Wilson downed 17 points in the second half while the Storm scored just two points in the final 10 minutes of the game. Storm forward Gabby Williams said she was "in shock" in the entire fourth quarter.

"We are our best when we run out of our defense and we put a couple of lineups out there that were super fast," Hammon said. "When we're fast, active defensively and just disruptive, we know we can get out to the other end."

The Aces have a chance to close out the series against the Storm on Tuesday in Game 2 at 6:30 p.m. PST at Michelob Ultra Arena.