The defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces have lost just one game this season.

The rebuilding Seattle Storm have won just two games.

But when the Storm visit the Aces on Thursday night, Seattle might not find itself at a disadvantage.

The Storm (2-6) are coming off their best performance of the season and their first road victory, an 83-69 win against the Phoenix Mercury on Tuesday.

“We’re trending in the right direction,” Seattle coach Noelle Quinn said. “This team is still learning and growing in a lot of ways. … But (Tuesday), it was a balanced attack. This is the start of something that can grow into where I envision this team going.”

The Storm led by as many as 21 points — their largest lead of the season — and held the Mercury to 18 points in each of the first three quarters. They held Diana Taurasi, the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer, scoreless for just the fifth time in her career.

The Aces (8-1) bounced back strong from their first loss of the season, a 94-77 setback against the Connecticut Sun, when they beat the visiting Chicago Sky 93-80 on Sunday. Las Vegas led by nine points after one quarter, 17 at halftime and by as many as 29 in the fourth quarter.

Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon didn’t focus on the uncharacteristic performance against the Sun.

“Sometimes, it’s best to just hit on two or three big points and then move on,” Hammon said, “not dwell too much on the past.”

Five Aces scored in double figures against the Sky, led by A’ja Wilson’s game-high 21 points. Chelsea Gray scored 19 points, Kelsey Plum had 16, Jackie Young had 14 and Candace Parker added 10 points, seven assists, six rebounds and five steals against her former team.

“We still have a lot more things to work on,” Wilson said. “We’re slowly starting to gel and mesh together a lot more, but I don’t think we’ve played our best basketball yet.”

–Field Level Media