With their season on the line, Jackie Young came to the rescue for the Las Vegas Aces.
Young scored on a put back off an A’ja Wilson miss with 12.4 seconds left, and the no. 2 Aces held off the seventh-ranked Seattle Storm, 74-73, in the do-or-die Game 3 to advance to the WNBA semifinals.
Trailing 73-72 in the closing moments, Wilson took an inbound pass from Jewell Lloyd, drove left and launched a fallaway jumper.
The shot rattled off, but Young soared over three Storm defenders for the go-ahead basket, sending Las Vegas into a best-of-five semifinal series against the sixth-seeded Indiana Fever.
Another angle of the CLUTCH bucket by Jackie Young to seal the @LVAces Game 3 victory! 😮?💨 https://t.co/tEYdOE4ieq
— WNBA (@WNBA) September 19, 2025
Wilson tied her playoff career high with 38 points on the same night she was named WNBA Defensive Player of the Year for the third time, an honor she shared with Alanna Smith of the Minnesota Lynx.
The @LVAces defeat the Seattle Storm, 74–73, and advance to the Semi-Finals of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs presented by @Google 👏
— WNBA (@WNBA) September 19, 2025
A’ja Wilson – 38 PTS (ties playoff career-high) | 5 REB | 3 STL
Jackie Young – 14 PTS | 4 STL
With the win, Becky Hammon passes Van Chancellor and John…
Young added 14 markers as Chelsea Gray chipped in 12 points and dished out eight dimes.
It marked the Aces’ seventh consecutive trip to the semifinals as they continued their bid for their first title since going back-to-back in 2022 and 2023.
Aces vs. Fever for a trip to the Finals 🔥
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) September 19, 2025
Who you got? 🍿
Meanwhile, Nneka Ogwumike and Erica Wheeler each scored 16 points for the Storm, who saw their season end in heartbreaking fashion.
Seattle entered Game 3 with momentum after an 86-83 win in Game 2 that snapped the Aces’ 17-game winning streak.
Wheeler gave the Storm a 73-72 lead with a pull-up jumper with 19.2 seconds left but missed a potential game-winner at the buzzer.
ERICA WHEELER TO GIVE THE STORM THE LEAD… AGAIN!
— WNBA (@WNBA) September 19, 2025
(73–72) With 18.7 seconds left in 4Q ?
ESPN2 | WNBA Playoffs presented by @Google
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Pao Ambat earned his journalism degree from Cavite State University in 2022.
Passionate about sports from a young age, he primarily covers the NBA for One Sports, while also assisting in reporting on the PVL, PBA, UAAP, and other leagues.
