RHYNE HOWARD, STREAKING DREAM TOP SLIDING STORM
Rhyne Howard scored 25 points and dished out seven assists to help the visiting Atlanta Dream post an 85-75 victory over the Seattle Storm on Wednesday.
Allisha Gray added 22 points and 11 rebounds for Atlanta (21-11), which extended its season-best winning streak to six games. Brittney Griner had 11 points and eight rebounds off the bench, while Maya Caldwell chipped in 10 points in the win.
Seattle (16-17) dropped its sixth straight game despite Nneka Ogwumike’s 29 points and nine rebounds. Gabby Williams amassed 11 points and six assists for the Storm.
After holding a two-point lead at halftime, Atlanta extended the margin to eight when Brionna Jones scored her first two baskets of the game before Gray made a layup at the 7:02 mark. From there, Seattle answered with a 10-1 run — including five points from Ogwumike — to grab a 49-48 lead.
Howard’s layup then began an 11-5 run as the Dream took a 59-52 edge with just over a minute left in the third. Howard then connected on three 3-pointers in the final 30 seconds of the quarter to give Atlanta a 68-54 lead entering the fourth.
The gap ballooned to 16 on Howard’s fifth triple of the night at the 7:11 mark of the final quarter. A late Seattle run cut the deficit to eight, but that was as close as the Storm would come.
After Williams’ layup gave Seattle an early 16-13 lead, Caldwell made a pair of 3-pointers as part of an 11-0 Atlanta spurt to help the Dream take an eight-point edge. Dominique Molanga’s hook shot cut the Storm’s deficit to 24-18 entering the second quarter.
Griner made just her fifth 3-pointer of the season to push Atlanta’s lead to 31-21, but Ezi Magbegor’s layup and Ogwumike’s back-to-back baskets pulled the Storm within four with 4:38 left in the second quarter.
Te-Hina Paopao’s only basket of the game gave the Dream a seven-point lead with just over a minute left in the first half. Ogwumike’s triple and Brittney Sykes’ free throws cut the Storm’s halftime deficit to 41-39.
JEWELL LOYD LEADS ACES TO RARE VICTORY OVER LIBERTY
Jewell Loyd scored 21 points and A’ja Wilson added 17 points and 16 rebounds as the Las Vegas Aces extended their season-best winning streak to five games with an 83-77 victory over the visiting New York Liberty on Wednesday.
Jackie Young put up 15 points and Chelsea Gray had 13 points and five assists as the Aces (19-14) won a matchup of teams that have combined to win the last three WNBA championships.
Las Vegas ended its six-game regular-season losing streak against New York. The Liberty also won the teams’ semifinal series last year three games to one.
New York’s Emma Meesseman matched her season high by logging 24 points for the second game in a row, and she added 10 rebounds. Sabrina Ionescu scored 18 points for the Liberty (21-12), who lost to the first-place Minnesota Lynx and the fifth-place Aces in the past three games.
Jonquel Jones scored 11 points for New York, which is 1-1 on a three-game road trip that ends Saturday at Minnesota.
With the game tied 72-72 and 4:19 remaining, the Aces went on an 8-2 run that included four free throws from Wilson for an 80-74 advantage with 1:53 left. Ionescu made a 3-pointer to bring New York within 80-77 with 1:42 to go.
The Aces, up by four, turned the ball over on a shot-clock violation with 20.8 seconds remaining, but Ionescu missed a 3-point attempt and Young sealed the victory with two free throws.
Playing on a second consecutive day for just the second time this season, the Liberty got off to a fast start by shooting 58.8 percent from the floor in the opening quarter while taking a 24-20 lead.
The Aces led by as many as four points in the second quarter before the Liberty regained the advantage and took a 43-40 lead into halftime behind 12 points and six rebounds from Meesseman. Young had just three points for Las Vegas at the break.
After missing eight games with a right calf strain, New York’s Kennedy Burke returned to score eight points in 16 minutes. Breanna Stewart missed her ninth consecutive game for the Liberty with a right knee injury.
VERONICA BURTON’S 30 FUELS VALKYRIES’ VICTORY OVER MYSTICS
The Washington Mystics’ late surge was not enough as Veronica Burton scored a career-high 30 points to lead the visiting Golden State Valkyries to an 88-83 win on Wednesday night.
Burton shot 6-for-9 on 3-point attempts while adding seven rebounds and seven assists for the Valkyries (17-15). Cecilia Zandalasini added her own career high with 20 points – 14 in the first half — on 6-of-8 shooting from deep while Tiffany Hayes added 14 points.
The Valkries also neutralized All-Star rookie Sonia Citron for three quarters. Citron entered the fourth quarter with only two points, but scored 13 over the final 10 minutes to fuel the Mystics’ rally. Washington trailed by 18 entering the fourth quarter, but got as close as 86-83 with 54 seconds to play.
Washington (14-18) scored the first basket of the night, but it was all Golden State from there. The Valkyries went on a 12-point run to end the first quarter for a 30-12 lead. That lead extended to 39-14 on Zandalasini’s stepback 3-pointer with eight minutes left in the first half.
To start the second half, Washington went on a 15-6 run to cut the lead down to single digits, but the Valkyries responded. With seven minutes remaining in the game, Golden State pushed the lead back up to over 20 points.
Golden State finished 15 of 32 on 3-pointers compared to Washington’s 7 for 24 showing.
Sug Sutton posted 15 points and 7 rebounds for the Mystics while rookie Kiki Iriafen had her 10th double-double with 14 points and 10 reboundr. Emily Engstler was 3-of-3 from beyond the arc and led all bench players with 13 points.
Washington played without starting forward Shakira Austin, who missed the game with left leg soreness. In Austin’s place, veteran Stefanie Dolson contributed five points but only one rebound.
The win is the third in a row for the Valkyries and third this season over the Mystics in the last regular season matchup between the two sides.
SUN WITHSTAND SKY’S SECOND-HALF RALLY TO SNAP LOSING SKID
Leila Lacan scored 17 points and Tina Charles added 15 in her return from a one-game absence, lifting the Connecticut Sun to a 71-62 victory over the Chicago Sky on Wednesday in Uncasville, Conn.
Marina Mabrey had 10 points and rookie Aneesah Morrow collected nine points and nine rebounds for the Sun (6-26), who saw their 21-point lead whittled down to four before holding on to snap a five-game losing skid. They also avenged a 78-66 setback to the Sky on June 15.
Chicago’s Kamilla Cardoso scored a game-high 24 points and tallied nine rebounds and Elizabeth Williams added 12 and 15, respectively.
Rachel Banham sank three 3-pointers to highlight her 10-point performance for the Sky (8-24), who committed 19 turnovers en route to losing for the 11th time of their last 12 games.
Chicago played without leading scorer/rebounder Angel Reese for the sixth straight game due to a back injury.
Charles, who sat out her team’s previous game for rest purposes, made a layup and rookie Saniya Rivers drained a mid-range jumper to push Connecticut’s lead to 55-34 with 4:28 remaining in the third quarter.
But in the fourth, Kia Nurse sank a 3-pointer as Chicago scored 11 straight points to trim its deficit to four points at 60-56 with 5:31 left. Charles halted the momentum with a 3-pointer and joined Rivers in converting an 18-foot jumper.
The Sky moved back within five at 67-62 with 2:32 to play, but Rivers made a free throw and Lacan added a driving layup.
Tempers flared with 6:35 remaining in the second quarter after Connecticut’s Bria Hartley pushed Chicago’s Rebecca Allen to the floor on a missed 3-point attempt. Allen responded by clutching Hartley’s jersey, a move that drew Sky teammate Ariel Atkins into the fray — although she inadvertently made contact with an official. Allen and Hartley were whistled for matching technical fouls and joined Atkins in being ejected from the contest.
The sequence seemed to light a fire under the Sun, who scored 15 of the next 22 points to seize a 42-28 lead at halftime. Olivia Nelson-Ododa scored six points in that sequence.
REPORT: SUN SALE COULD BE IMPACTED BY WNBA RELOCATION FEE
Looking for a greater say in the sale and relocation of the Connecticut Sun franchise, the WNBA is looking to impose an additional fee on the potential transaction, Front Office Sports reported Wednesday.
The Sun has matching $325-million bids to acquire the team from the Mohegan Tribe in Connecticut, according to reports, with both prospective owners intent on relocating the team to separate cities in New England.
The WNBA, though, is believed to be interested in Houston as the new home of the Sun.
Whatever ownership group and city are selected, the WNBA reportedly now wants an additional undisclosed relocation fee to accompany the deal.
A deal to buy the Sun was first agreed upon between Boston Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca and the Mohegan Tribe in July. But WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert reportedly never presented the deal to the league’s board of governors for approval.
When the exclusive sale window expired, former Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry submitted his own offer, CT Insider reported.
Pagliuca is believed to be interested in moving the team to Boston, while Lasry is interested in Hartford, Conn., as the team’s new home.
According to FOS, the league would prefer that Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta purchase the team for $325 million, while also paying the undisclosed relocation fee to move the team to Texas’ largest city.
Fertitta’s bid for an expansion team was not accepted earlier this year when Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia were selected as future locations of teams after each agreed to a $250-million expansion fee.
