Breanna Stewart, Seattle Storm Win WNBA Title in Game 3 vs. A'ja Wilson, Aces

For the second time in three years, the Seattle Storm are the WNBA champions.

In a 92-59 victory over the Las Vegas Aces on Tuesday, Seattle easily clinched the fourth title in franchise history. As she has in each of the three Finals games, forward Breanna Stewart led the way in scoring, this time posting 26 points and four rebounds to push her team to a sweep of the Aces. In doing so, she set a league record by adding more than 20 points in six consecutive WNBA Finals games. 

After the second-seeded Storm dropped both regular-season contests with the No. 1 Aces and Stewart finished second to Las Vegas' A'ja Wilson in MVP voting, their fourth league title is a testament to the thought process that defines the program.

"The best version of this team is in the playoffs and now in the Finals," Storm head coach Dan Hughes said in a video posted to the league's Twitter account. "We're a team and an organization that appreciates winning the day-to-day with our culture until we find ourselves on the doorstep of more championships." 

Notable Performers

Breanna Stewart, F, Storm: 26 points (10-of-14 shooting, 3-of-4 from three), four rebounds

Jewell Loyd, G, Storm: 19 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists

Alysha Clark, F, Storm: 10 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists

A'ja Wilson, F, Aces: 18 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists

Second-Half Surge From the Storm Defense

After the Storm allowed Vegas to take an 11-2 lead to open the game, they managed to rally back to a nine-point lead at halftime, 43-34. Their offense returned to post a game-high 32 points in the third quarter, but their defense had even more of an impact in the victory.

Seattle allowed 21 points in the first quarter and just 27 in the second and third quarters combined. Wilson, who had 14 points and four rebounds in the first half, was limited to just four points and two rebounds in the third quarter. 

A'ja Wilson Needed Help

Wilson had posted strong performances in each of Vegas' first two outings in this series and was the best player on the court for much of Tuesday. But there's only so much the league MVP can do without help in an effort to rally her team back from a series deficit that no team in WNBA Finals history has overcome.

She posted 12 points in the opening six minutes but was shut down by Seattle's defense after.

The Aces' second-leading scorer, Kayla McBride, had just half of that as Vegas failed to hold on to an early 11-2 lead. She ended the night as Vegas' leading scorer with 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting, but she was one of just two Aces players to post double-digit scoring. Jackie Young added 11 points off the bench, and Carolyn Swords tallied 10 rebounds for Vegas.