By Atishay Jain

Copyright sportskeeda

The Seattle Storm and Las Vegas Aces crossed swords in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series at the Michelob ULTRA Arena on Thursday. It was a single-game elimination scenario, with the Aces having won Game 1 and the Storm roaring back with a thrilling victory in Game 2.For Game 3, both teams stuck to their usual starting lineups. The Storm began with Gabby Williams, Brittney Sykes, Skylar Diggins, Ezi Magbegor and Nneka Ogwumike. The Aces’ starting five featured A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young, NaLyssa Smith, Chelsea Gray and Kierstan Bell.The Storm picked up right where they had left off in Game 2, landing the first punch in a hostile environment. Skylar Diggins and Erica Wheeler combined for 10 points to help Seattle take a 19-14 lead into the second quarter. A’ja Wilson and Jackie Young scored six points each in the opening period for the Aces, but despite the duo’s efforts, the home team trailed after the first quarter.The second half saw the Aces flex their strength and erase the deficit. Wilson and Young continued to dominate on the offensive end, while the Storm’s defense had no answers. On the other side of the floor, Las Vegas tightened up defensively, holding Seattle to just seven points in the second quarter. Their stellar play in the period gave the Aces a 33-26 lead heading into halftime.Seattle Storm vs Las Vegas Aces Player Stats and Box Score (Sep. 18)Seattle StormPlayerMINFGMFGAFG%3 PM3PA3P%FTMFTAFT%OREBDREBREBASTTOVSTLBLKPFPTSPlus/MinusGabby Williams SF14:24245001000-123000014-3Nneka Ogwumike PF15:1004001022100033100002-8Ezi Magbegor C14:5925400101250033212125-3Brittney Sykes SG10:201110000-00-112020002-2Skylar Diggins PG17:541520125022100101230015-13Erica Wheeler17:223837.51333.300-011311017-3Dominique Malonga9:5104000-1250022020121-3Lexie Brown0:0000-00-00-0000000000Zia Cooke0:0000-00-00-0000000000Mackenzie Holmes0:0000-00-00-0000000000Tiffany Mitchell0:0000-00-00-0000000000Katie Lou Samuelson0:0000-00-00-0000000000Las Vegas Aces PlayerMINFGMFGAFG%3 PM3PA3P%FTMFTAFT%OREBDREBREBASTTOVSTLBLKPFPTSPlus/MinusKierstan Bell SF7:2502002000-0111100008A’ja Wilson PF17:225862.5010347505521210132NaLyssa Smith C15:281333.301000-04420003212Jackie Young SG16:254666.7125000-0110000196Chelsea Gray PG16:5335601110000-0112410079Jewell Loyd15:131110000-00-1121121124Dana Evans6:4202000-00-000200010-1Cheyenne Parker-Tyus4:3201000-00-000000000-5Megan Gustafson0:0000-00-00-0000000000Aaliyah Nye0:0000-00-00-0000000000Kiah Stokes0:0000-00-00-0000000000Note: Scores are updated till halftime.