FEVER KNOCK OFF STORM FOR FIFTH STRAIGHT VICTORY
Natasha Howard scored 21 points and Sophie Cunningham added a season-high 17 as the visiting Indiana Fever extended their winning streak to a season-high five games by holding on for a 78-74 victory over the Seattle Storm on Sunday.
Aliyah Boston amassed 16 points, 12 rebounds and three steals as the Fever (17-12) solidified their playoff credentials after winning the first two games of a four-game road trip. Indiana leading scorer Kelsey Mitchell was held to nine points, well below her 19.9 per-game average, on 3-of-16 shooting.
Indiana’s recent success has come without star guard Caitlin Clark, who has missed the past seven games with a groin injury and has missed 16 of the team’s 29 games this season with multiple ailments.
Aari McDonald, who has been starting for the Fever in place of Clark, scored nine points and handed out nine assists.
Nneka Ogwumike scored 16 points and Skylar Diggins added 13 as the Storm (16-13) lost for the third time in their past four games. Gabby Williams and Dominique Malonga each had 12 points for Seattle, which is on a three-game home losing streak.
The Fever appeared to be in control, leading 57-44 lead with 4:25 remaining in the third quarter after a jumper from Howard capped a 9-2 run. The Storm followed a timeout by closing the quarter on a 10-1 run to cut the deficit to 58-54.
Indiana found its stride again with an 8-2 run to open the fourth quarter and push the advantage back to 66-56 with 7:53 remaining.
The Storm made a late push with an 11-0 run to pull within 73-72 with 2:14 remaining after a three-point play from Diggins.
Trailing 75-72, Seattle missed four consecutive 3-point attempts that would have tied the game until Malonga scored as Seattle pulled within 75-74 with 12.2 seconds remaining. With another chance for the Storm to tie the game late, Williams missed a 3-pointer with 5.1 seconds remaining.
Indiana led by as many as 10 in the second quarter before taking a 42-34 lead into halftime. Howard led all scorers with 12 points in the first half.
JEWELL LOYD CATCHES FIRE, ACES BOUNCE BACK VS. VALKYRIES
Jewell Loyd established season highs of 27 points and seven 3-pointers off the bench and the Las Vegas Aces rebounded from a horrifying loss one day earlier to rout the visiting Golden State Valkyries 101-77 on Sunday.
Jackie Young recorded 20 points and eight assists and A’ja Wilson added 14 points, 14 rebounds and four steals to help Las Vegas (15-14) move forward after being pounded 111-58 by the Minnesota Lynx for the second worst loss in WNBA history.
Chelsea Gray had 11 points, six assists and five rebounds as the Aces led by as many as 28 points in the first of a home-and-home between the teams. The rematch is Wednesday in San Francisco.
Iliana Rupert scored a season-high 17 points as the Valkyries (14-14) had a three-game winning streak halted. Golden State finished 3-2 on a five-game road trip.
Laeticia Amihere had 14 points and nine rebounds off the bench and Carla Leite also scored 14 for the Valkyries. Kaila Charles added 13 points.
Golden State again played without Monique Billings (ankle), Tiffany Hayes (ankle) and Cecilia Zandalasini (foot); the attrition continued when Janelle Salaun was ejected for a flagrant 2 foul in the final seconds of the first half.
Earlier this season, the Valkyries lost All-Star Kayla Thornton to a season-ending knee injury.
The Aces shot 46.1 percent from the field, including 18 of 40 from 3-point range. Loyd was 7 of 11 from long distance.
Golden State made just 34.2 percent of its field goal attempts and was 10 of 34 from behind the arc.
Las Vegas took control by scoring 20 of the final 27 points in the first quarter for a 27-14 lead.
A three-point play by Wilson pushed the advantage to 43-22 with 2:31 left in the half. The score was 50-25 at halftime.
Loyd made three first-half 3-pointers and had 13 points at the break.
Then she turned her shooting into overdrive late in the third quarter when she buried three treys in 84 seconds to boost the lead to 76-48 with 31 seconds to play. The score was 76-50 entering the fourth quarter.
Loyd achieved her season high by hitting trey No. 7 with 7:03 remaining in the game. Her career high is nine.
MERCURY CRUISE PAST SKY BEHIND KAHLEAH COPPER’S 25, ALYSSA THOMAS’ TRIPLE-DOUBLE
Kahleah Copper scored a game-high 25 points and Alyssa Thomas registered a triple-double of 10 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds to lift the visiting Phoenix Mercury to an 83-67 win against the skidding Chicago Sky on Sunday.
Phoenix (17-11) salvaged the finale of a five-game road trip in which it finished 2-3. The Mercury led by as many as 26 points after trailing by nine in the first half.
Phoenix regained the advantage to stay on Monique Akoa Makani’s pullup jumper with 4:31 left in the second quarter. The Mercury led 42-34 at the break before limiting the Sky to 33 second-half points. The Sky committed eight of their 12 turnovers after halftime.
Short-handed Chicago lost its eighth straight game to fall to 7-21. Angel Reese, the team leader in points, rebounds and assists, remained out with a leg injury while second-leading scorer Ariel Atkins (calf) also was sidelined.
The Sky shot 37.1 percent compared to 45.2 percent for the Mercury, who shot just 7-for-25 from beyond the arc.
Copper shined against her former team, finishing 8-for-14 from the floor, including a 4-for-6 effort from long range.
Sami Whitcomb chipped in 11 points for Phoenix while Kalani Brown grabbed nine boards. Thomas notched her second triple-double of the season and first since July 7.
The Mercury finished plus-five on the glass and outscored the Sky 30-3 on the fast break.
Elizabeth Williams paced the Sky with 15 points and 15 rebounds. Kamilla Cardoso had 12 points and 10 rebounds for her fifth double-double in six games while Michaela Onyenwere chipped in 13 points. Sevgi Uzun dished four assists for Chicago but also led the team with five turnovers.
The Mercury were without top scorer Satou Sabally, who missed the game due to personal reasons. Phoenix coach Nate Tibbetts said the absence was not related to Sabally’s benching during the season half of Friday’s loss in Atlanta.
Phoenix improved to 3-0 against Chicago this season. The teams are set to close the season series in Phoenix on Aug. 28.
DREAM OVERCOME SLOPPY START, CRUISE TO WIN OVER MYSTICS
Brionna Jones scored a game-high 23 points on 9-of-10 field goal shooting Sunday and the Atlanta Dream shrugged off a ragged start to stop the visiting Washington Mystics 99-83.
Allisha Gray added 22 for Atlanta (18-11), which won for the fifth time in six games and accomplished a season high in scoring for a second straight game. Jordin Canada contributed 16 points and nine assists, while Naz Hillmon chipped in a 14-point, 13-rebound double-double. Nia Coffey came off the bench to tally 15 points.
Rookie Kiki Iriafen scored 22 points to pace Washington (13-15), connecting on 9 of 15 attempts from the field. Shakira Austin added 16 but also committed seven of the Mystics’ 22 turnovers. Sonia Citron also hit for 16 points, and Sug Sutton finished with 13 points.
The game was rife with mistakes as the teams combined for 43 turnovers. But the main difference was what the teams did with the opponent’s mistakes. The Dream cashed in Washington’s turnovers for 33 points and the Mystics managed just 20 points off Atlanta’s 21 miscues.
The Dream made 56.3 percent of their field goal attempts and earned a 33-19 rebounding advantage. They led by as many as 21 points in the fourth quarter.
Looking for a win to help its playoff chances, Washington jumped out to a fast start, forcing five turnovers in the first four minutes and scoring the first 10 points. The Mystics pushed the lead as high as 13 before settling for a 23-12 advantage going to the second quarter.
Atlanta turned the tide late in the second quarter when it started forcing turnovers at a rapid clip. Down 35-23, the Dream went on a 17-2 run, taking the lead for good on Canada’s layup with 51.7 seconds left. They got to the half up 40-39.
Atlanta kept expanding the lead in the third quarter, making it double figures for the first time on Jones’ 3-point play at the 3:11 mark. Jones added a layup with 6.6 seconds remaining to send the Dream to the fourth quarter with a 71-60 cushion.
SABRINA IONESCU ERUPTS FOR SEASON-HIGH 36 AS LIBERTY DOWN SUN
Sabrina Ionescu scored a season-high 36 points and pulled down 11 rebounds as the visiting New York Liberty waved goodbye to a four-game losing streak with an 87-78 win over the Connecticut Sun on Sunday.
Ionescu recorded her first double-double of the year and her lone made 3-pointer was the 445th of her career, the most in franchise history, as the Liberty (18-10) ended their longest losing streak since 2022.
Jonquel Jones was also impressive, scoring 21 points and grabbing nine rebounds for New York, which won its 500th game in franchise history and is 2-1 against Connecticut this season.
The Liberty won despite still being without Breanna Stewart, who is averaging 18.3 points per game but missed her fourth game in a row with a knee bruise.
Adding Emma Meesseman to the roster helped, however. Signed on Friday, the 2019 WNBA Finals MVP chipped in 11 points.
Connecticut (5-22) was looking for back-to-back wins for the first time this season but couldn’t pull it off despite 17 points and eight rebounds from Tina Charles.
Aneesah Morrow added 16 points and nine boards, Bria Hartley scored 12 and Marina Mabrey contributed 10 points for the Sun, who have lost six of eight.
New York led 45-38 at halftime and took its first double-digit when Meesseman, playing in the league for the first time since 2022, hit two free throws for a 54-43 lead at the 6:24 mark.
The Liberty led 66-57 going into the final period and went on to avenge Friday’s 78-62 loss to the Sun in Uncasville.
Ionescu was on fire in the opening quarter with 16 points, giving her team a 20-19 lead with a layup while sparking a 6-0 run that gave the reigning WNBA champions a 25-19 edge after one.
Connecticut got as close as 39-36 on a 3-pointer by Bria Hartley with 2:57 remaining in the half.
But the Liberty responded with a 6-0 run, capped by Jones’ layup with 1:49 to go as New York went up 43-36.
New York scored 13 of its points off turnovers and shot 54.1 percent (20-of-37) from the field on its way to a seven-point advantage.
New York and Connecticut will play one final time this year when they meet Aug. 25 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
LYNX ACQUIRE DIJONAI CARRINGTON IN TRADE WITH WINGS
The Minnesota Lynx acquired guard DiJonai Carrington on Sunday from the Dallas Wings, sending forward Diamond Miller, guard Karlie Samuelson and a 2027 second-round draft pick in exchange.
With the move, Carrington goes from the No. 11 team in the league in Dallas (8-21) to a franchise that is running away from the pack in the league standings. The Lynx (24-5) have a six-game lead on the second-place New York Liberty.
Dallas acquired the 5-foot-11 Carrington on Feb. 2 from the Connecticut Sun, with whom she played four seasons. The move was part of a massive 10-team trade.
In 20 games with the Wings, the 27-year-old averaged 10.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists over 24.9 minutes per game.
All are above her career averages of 8.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 20.2 minutes per contest. She has appeared in 151 career games with Dallas and Connecticut.
Carrington was named the WNBA’s Most Improved Player in 2024 and also was selected to the league’s All-Defensive first team.
The Lynx selected Miller with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft. She has averages of 7.1 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists over 16.3 minutes over 78 career games.
Samuelson was in her first season with Dallas after being acquired April 14 in a trade with the Washington Mystics. In 16 games this season, she averaged 3.3 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 16.5 minutes per game. She is a career 39.2 percent shooter from 3-point territory.
The Lynx next play on Tuesday against the Storm in Seattle.
