VALKYRIES, MINUS KAYLA THORNTON, RALLY PAST WINGS
Playing without leading scorer and rebounder Kayla Thornton, the Golden State Valkyries rallied in the second half to snap a three-game losing streak with an 86-76 win over the Dallas Wings on Friday in San Francisco.
Golden State (11-12) came into its first game since the All-Star break with the news Thornton would miss the remainder of the season, which was announced just hours before the Friday tipoff. Thornton must undergo knee surgery, ending her campaign with averages of 14.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
Dallas (7-18) capitalized on the Valkyries being without their star early, running out to a 21-10 lead through the first quarter. However, led by Tiffany Hayes, whose 17 points paced five Golden State scorers in double figures, the Valkyries chipped away at the deficit until pulling ahead at the culmination of a 19-8 run in the third quarter.
Golden State never trailed in the fourth quarter, but Dallas stayed within striking distance throughout. Wings rookie Paige Bueckers came alive over the final 10 minutes, shooting 4-of-6 from the floor for nine points in the final period. She finished with a team-high 17 points.
Bueckers converted a successful and-one to get Dallas within 78-75 with 2:10 to go, but Golden State made eight of 10 free throws the rest of the way to hold on.
Neither team sank a basket in the game’s final two minutes. The Wings missed their final four field-goal attempts.
Temi Fagbenele finished with 11 points and eight rebounds for the Valkyries. Janelle Salaun scored 16 points, Carla Leite came off the bench to score 14 points, and Cecilia Zandalasini added 10 points.
Arike Ogunbowale scored 16 points for Dallas, while Aziah James and Haley Jones added 13 and 10 points, respectively, off the Wings’ bench. Bueckers dished a game-high six assists.
SABRINA IONESCU NETS 29 AS LIBERTY RALLY PAST MERCURY
Sabrina Ionescu scored a game-high 29 points — including 12 in the crucial third quarter — as the host New York Liberty rallied to defeat the Phoenix Mercury 89-76 on Friday night.
Ionescu also had a game-high-tying eight assists, and teammate Jonquel Jones added 20 points and a team-high 11 rebounds.
The Liberty won despite getting just six points from All-Star Breanna Stewart, who made 3-of-12 shots. However, Stewart posted eight rebounds, five assists, two blocks and two steals.
Phoenix, which had beaten New York both times the teams had met previously this season, blew a 12-point first-half lead.
The Liberty, the reigning WNBA champs, outscored the Mercury by eight points in the third quarter to take control of the game.
New York has won five straight games, the longest active streak in the league.
The Mercury, who have lost three straight games — their longest skid of the season — were led by Alyssa Thomas, who had 20 points, a game-high 13 rebounds and eight assists. Kahleah Copper added 14 points.
Mercury center Satou Sabally — who was named an All-Star starter this year but missed the game due to injury — scored just six points on 3-for-13 shooting.
Phoenix got off to an 8-0 lead, and it took New York 3:18 before it scored a point.
The Mercury stretched their lead to 11 points, but the Liberty closed the first quarter well, trailing 27-23 at the buzzer.
Midway through the second quarter, Ionescu scored five straight points, cutting New York’s deficit to 39-32 and forcing Phoenix to call timeout. New York kept coming, tying the score 42-42 on a Natasha Cloud bucket with 1:22 remaining.
By halftime, the score was tied at 46.
Thomas led all first-half scorers with 15 points, and she also had seven rebounds and five assists.
New York took its first lead of the game at 56-54 on a layup by Ionescu with 3:55 left in the third quarter. The hosts then scored the final seven points in the third, taking a 67-59 lead going into the fourth.
The Liberty cruised in that final period.
For the game, New York (21-of-22) outscored Phoenix (7-of-13) 21-7 at the foul line, and that was the difference in the scoring column.
LYNX REMAIN UNDEFEATED AT HOME WITH ROMP OF ACES
Napheesa Collier scored a game-high 25 points Friday night and the Minnesota Lynx improved to 14-0 at home with a 109-78 rout of the Las Vegas Aces.
Courtney Williams added 23 points and five assists for Minnesota (22-4), sinking 10 of 12 shots from the field. Bridget Carleton chipped in 14 points and Kayla McBride hit for 13 as the Lynx connected on 54.4 percent from the field, going 10 of 25 on 3-pointers. Jessica Shepard came off the bench for 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
A’ja Wilson scored 15 points for Las Vegas (12-13) and Jackie Young added 14 but the Aces didn’t have enough firepower to match up with Minnesota. Playing their second game in as many nights, they sank only 38 percent from the field and were dominated on the boards to the tune of 48-30.
Minnesota carried a 24-point lead into the fourth quarter and the only suspense left was when it would reach 100 points. That happened with 4:07 left on a putback by Shepard, marking the third time this year the Lynx topped the century mark. They finished with a season high in points.
Minnesota wasted little time taking control of the game. It made 7 of its last 10 shots in the first quarter, including a pair of 3-pointers from Carleton, to open up a 27-18 lead. Meanwhile, Las Vegas hit a cold spell, canning just 2 of its last 8 attempts in the period.
Young made a pair of foul shots at the 3:29 mark of the second quarter to pull the Aces within 39-32. But the Lynx gained permanent separation with a 12-3 run to end the half, opening up a 16-point advantage at intermission.
Minnesota put the game away in a marathon third quarter that saw it shoot a remarkable 23 foul shots. McBride made a pair at the line to put Minnesota ahead by 77-52 with three minutes left and the Lynx headed for the final 10 minutes with a comfortable 85-61 cushion.
