With survival instinct at its peak, the New York Liberty defeats the Aces in Game 3. Evidently, this victory turned out to be Liberty’s lifeline in the best-of-five championship series. The Liberty made a significant comeback after being hit with a pair of losses on their road to the Finals victory. However, the Aces’ point guard Kelsey Plum thought her team’s strategy would lead them to a Game 3 win.

The first quarter witnessed the score tied between both teams at 10. But then came the momentous moment when Chelsea Gray left the court with her injured foot. Her departure left the Aces tottering despite Plum thinking otherwise.

Kelsey Plum uncovering the Aces’s failed strategy

Plum had a big series and a big finish to the first quarter. After the quarter ended, the Aces point guard at a loss of breath spills the strategy in a quick interview, having high hopes to win Game 3. “We’re all right, we just got to keep battling. Our defense is what got us here and that’s what’s going to get us home, so we just got to stay steady, get stops, run,” says Plum on the anticipated reaction from the Liberty at their home court.

The Liberty went on a big scoring run and the Aces stepped up with a big three in response. “It’s my team, it’s fine to me, you gotta keep moving the ball, play the right way, play with each other, that’s how we’re gonna win this game,” says Plum processing her team’s defensive play.

However, Jonquel Jones, the Liberty’s power forward dominated the court by scoring 27 points (10 out of 15 shooting), including four 3-point shots, 8 rebounds, and blocked three shots. Both teams got tied at 10, including Liberty’s 8-straight points in a run for 21-12 lead with only 2 minutes left in the quarter.

Following the first quarter, the Aces were down at 21-18, and Plum closed with a 6-0 run. Scoring 8 points each, Plum and Jones led their teams. However, the Liberty took the lead and outscored the Aces by 6-0 in transition with 7 assists against the Aces’s 1 assist.

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But, what happened in the rest of the game?

The Ace in Game 3

Scoring a playoff career-high of 29 points, Plum tied it with five 3-pointers. This postseason, it was the third time when she scored 5 3-point shots. Also, it was the 6th time this year that she scored more than 5 3-point shots in a single game.

In the WNBA postseason history, there have been only 17 5-game series in which one team has won the first two games. And evidently, out of those 17 teams – 14 won via a sweep, 3 in 4 games, and 1 got pushed to a decisive Game 5.

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Now, the Aces and the Liberty seem to be headed toward a similar scenario.