DREAM USE THIRD-QUARTER SURGE TO PUT AWAY VALKYRIES
Allisha Gray scored 12 of her 13 points in a third-quarter runaway as the Atlanta Dream used balanced scoring and a suffocating defense to continue a successful road trip with a 79-63 victory over the Golden State Valkyries on Sunday night.
Rhyne Howard (14), Brionna Jones (13), Naz Hillmon (12) and Te-Hina Paopao (10) also scored in double figures for the Dream, who retained second place in the WNBA standings with a fourth win in five contests on a lengthy six-game trip.
Coming off a 2-0 trip and seeking a fifth straight win overall in pursuit of a playoff berth in their inaugural season, the Valkyries managed to play the Dream even at 25-all through the first 20 minutes before the visitors turned Gray loose and tightened the defensive screws even more in the third period.
A three-point play by Cecilia Zandalasini had Golden State within 40-39 with 4:29 remaining in the quarter before Gray drilled a second 3-pointer in consecutive possessions to ignite a 13-3 burst that opened a 53-42 advantage by quarter’s end.
Howard and Maya Caldwell added 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter as the Dream extended their lead to 17 points and never looked back en route to a second win in three games against the Valkyries this season.
Jones also found time for a game-high nine rebounds and Howard for a game-high six assists for the Dream, who were coming off a two-point loss to the Seattle Storm in the WNBA’s first-ever game in Canada on Friday.
Atlanta won despite shooting just 41.2 percent from the field. The Dream made only nine of their 35 attempts from beyond the arc, but that was two more than Golden State converted in 29 attempts.
The Valkyries shot just 35 percent overall en route to their second-lowest point total of the season. Golden State was also dominated on the boards to the tune of 38-27.
Veronica Burton paced Golden State with 16 points and five assists. Zandalasini chipped in with 11 points as part of a starting lineup in which no Valkyries player made half her shots.
ALYSSA THOMAS’ TRIPLE-DOUBLE FUELS MERCURY WIN OVER STORM
Alyssa Thomas came through with her sixth triple-double of the season — collecting 19 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds — as the visiting Phoenix Mercury snapped a two-game losing streak with an 85-82 victory over the Seattle Storm on Sunday.
Kahleah Copper poured in 17 points, while Sami Whicomb hit three 3-pointers and scored 15 points as the Mercury (20-13) survived a furious rally attempt by the Storm (17-18).
Satou Sabally and DeWanna Bonner added 11 and 10 points, respectively, as Phoenix held on despite Seattle getting within 83-82 after a layup by Brittney Sykes with 8.4 seconds remaining.
Two made free throws by Whitcomb made it 85-82 with 2.9 seconds left. The Storm, though, had a chance to force overtime, but Erica Wheeler missed a 3-pointer as time expired.
Seattle, which was searching for its second straight win but has now lost seven of eight, was led by Nneka Ogwumike’s 24 points and eight boards.
Skylar Diggins (14), Gabby Williams (13) and Sykes (11) also scored in double figures for the Storm, which lost despite racking up 22 points off turnovers and holding a 56-38 scoring advantage in the paint.
It was Forever Sue day in Seattle as the Storm unveiled a statue for Sue Bird, a four-time WNBA champion.
The Mercury went into the fourth quarter with a 67-60 advantage — but things soon got interesting.
Ogwumike snagged a rebound off a miss by Williams and put it back up to tie the score at 75-75 with 3:57 left.
Wheeler gave Seattle its first lead of the day, swishing home a 3-pointer with a defender on her, as the Storm went up 78-77 at the 2:21 mark.
Back-to-back layups by Copper put the Mercury back in front 81-78 with 53.3 to play.
Down 43-37 at halftime, the Storm kept it close in the third and were only down 60-58 after Williams spun in the lane and threw up a reverse layup with 2:39 left in period.
Trailing 62-60, Ogwumike had a chance to put Seattle on top, but her 3-pointer with 50.7 seconds to go in the third was off the mark. Phoenix took advantage, with Kathryn Westbeld drilling a 3-pointer to stake the Mercury to a 65-60 advantage.
Phoenix grabbed early momentum with an 8-0 run to open the contest, taking a 10-2 lead on a jumper by Thomas at the 6:48 mark of the first quarter.
But the Storm surged back, closing the first quarter on a 6-0 run that was punctuated on a short shot by Ogwumike with 24.4 seconds remaining that cut the lead to 20-17.
Whitcomb buried two big 3-pointers in the final minute of the second quarter, the last with 23.9 remaining for a 43-34 lead. Ogwumike, though, answered with one of her own to slice the Mercury lead to six points at the break.
The Mercury shot 8-of-26 from beyond the arc while holding the Storm to a 4-of-22 showing from distance. With the win, Phoenix salvaged a split of its four-game season series with Seattle.
A’JA WILSON DOMINATES WINGS AS ACES POST SEVENTH CONSECUTIVE WIN
A’ja Wilson’s historic 34-point performance paced the Las Vegas Aces to a 106-87 home win over the Dallas Wings.
The win was Las Vegas’s seventh in a row and enhanced Wilson’s already impressive record slate.
The three-time league MVP posted her 32nd career game with 30 or more points, which ties her for the second-most such games in WNBA history with Angel McCoughtry, trailing only Diana Taurasi (54) in that category.
The Aces led the entire way after late in the first quarter, but saw Dallas pull within 59-53 on a Maddy Siegrist short jumper with six minutes left in the third period. Las Vegas then went on a 10-4 run in the next 1:19 which included a layup and a pair of foul shots for Wilson and 3-pointers for Jewell Loyd and Jackie Young. Dallas never pulled closer than nine points after that run.
Las Vegas (21-14) registered their fourth 100-point performance of the season and tied the team season scoring high, paced by Wilson’s 11-for-16 shooting performance en route to 34 points and eight boards.
Kierstan Bell added 18 points on 6-for-7 3-point markmanship. Nalyssa Smith tallied 14 points. Starting point guard Chelsea Gray managed a double-double with 10 points and 14 assists, tying her career high. Loyd added 12 points off the bench.
The Aces shot 18-for-34 (52.9 percent) from 3-point range, tying their season-best in long-range conversions. A total of 28 assists for the Aces was the second-best tally on the season.
Dallas (9-26) was paced by 23 points from Siegrist, who set a new career best while shooting 11-for-15 from the field. Rookie standout Paige Bueckers added 18 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Las Vegas swept the four-game series between the squads. The Aces will host the Atlanta Dream on Tuesday in a game with playoff seeding implications. The Wings, who have been eliminated from the playoff picture, travel to the Los Angeles Sparks on Wednesday.
ROOKIES LEAD THE WAY IN MYSTICS’ WIN OVER SPARKS
Sonia Citron poured in 24 points and fellow rookie Kiki Iriafen posted 18 points and 10 rebounds as the host Washington Mystics defeated the Los Angeles Sparks 95-86 on Sunday afternoon.
Washington’s Shakira Austin, who had been out of game action for more than a week because of left-leg soreness, finished with 14 points in 18 minutes and Jade Melbourne notched 11 points. The Mystics (16-18), who shot 59.3 percent from the floor, have won three of their last four games.
Citron went 5-for-6 on 3-pointers, racking up nearly half of the team’s 11 makes from 3-point range.
Dearica Hamby scored 12 points in a stretch of less than five minutes in the third quarter on her way to 26 points and seven assists for the Sparks (16-18). Kelsey Plum connected on 10 of 15 shots as part of a 25-point effort, Rickea Jackson had 17 points and reserve Rae Burrell added 10 points.
The Mystics had good ball movement, picking up assists on 30 of their 35 baskets. Sug Sutton had a team-high seven assists.
Washington held a 67-54 lead after Lucy Olsen’s jumper midway through the third quarter. Citron drained two 3-pointers in the final minute of the third quarter as the Mystics held a 77-65 edge going to the fourth.
After the Sparks closed within 87-81, Citron recorded the next five points with a three and a jumper to thwart that threat.
The Mystics overpowered the Sparks at times on the boards, finishing with a 35-15 rebounding advantage.
Washington built a 53-41 lead by halftime, sparked by a 10-3 run in the middle stages of the second quarter.
The Mystics shot 60 percent (18-for-30) in the first half. That included 7-for-13 on 3-point attempts, with six different players hitting from long range.
Washington snapped a two-game home losing skid while avenging a pair of losses in a home-and-home set with Los Angeles last month.
KELSEY MITCHELL SCORES 38 AS FEVER STORM BACK TO BEAT SUN IN OT
Kelsey Mitchell scored 34 of her career-high 38 points after halftime Sunday as the visiting Indiana Fever erased a 50-29 third quarter deficit to earn a 99-93 win over the Connecticut Sun.
Mitchell canned 11 of 22 shots from the field, including 5 of 8 3-pointers, and was 11 of 12 at the foul line. She scored her team’s first 10 points of overtime before Lexie Hull drilled a game-sealing corner 3-pointer with 44.9 seconds left to make it 97-90.
Odyssey Sims added 19 points and seven assists for Indiana (19-16), which played its 13th straight game without star guard Caitlin Clark (right groin). Natasha Howard tallied 18 points and Aliyah Boston filled the stat sheet with14 points 13 rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks.
Marina Mabrey scored 27 points and dished out five assists for Connecticut (6-27), while Tina Charles added 21 points. Saniya Rivers came off the bench for 15 points and five blocked shots, and Aneesha Morris contributed 10 points, plus 11 rebounds.
Indiana forced overtime when Boston canned a 16-foot jumper with 21.8 seconds left in regulation. Mabrey missed a runner on Connecticut’s final possession, while the Fever failed to squeeze off a shot after rebounding and calling time with 1.4 seconds remaining.
Connecticut wasted little time putting its stamp on the first half, rattling off 12 straight first-quarter points and holding Indiana scoreless for 4:23. The Sun headed for the second quarter with a 24-11 advantage.
It got no better for the Fever in the second quarter. First, they lost starting guard Sophie Cunningham with a knee injury. Then, they trailed by 20 after Mabrey canned a 3-pointer in the final minute. The margin was 48-29 at the break.
Indiana made a move in the third quarter after the deficit grew to 21. Mitchell finally got untracked with 14 points in the period, helping it slash the margin to eight. But Leila Lacan beat the buzzer with a 30-footer, enabling Connecticut to take a 63-52 cushion to the fourth period.
