Liberty end losing streak with Aces win; Bench display helps Mystics to Wings thrashing
Monday 10 June 2019 13:19, UK
Jonquel Jones starred with a double-double as the Connecticut Sun beat the Atlanta Dream 65-59 on Sunday night to stay top of the WNBA standings.
Jonquel Jones had 17 points and 13 rebounds and Alyssa Thomas also had a double-double as the Connecticut Sun defeated the Atlanta Dream 65-59 on Sunday night.
Thomas, who had 12 points and 12 rebounds, ended a three-minute dry spell with a jumper to put the Sun up 59-57 with 3:30 to play and start a 9-0 run. She added a free throw at the 2:18 mark and Jones hit a 3 off a Thomas assist and Courtney Williams hit a 17-foot to make it 65-57 with 34 seconds to go.
Tiffany Hayes made a layup with 28.1 seconds left, the first basket for Atlanta since Alex Bentley tied the game at 57 at the 6:07 mark. The Dream missed seven shots and three turnovers in that decisive stretch.
Williams added 13 points for Connecticut (5-1), which has the best record in the league. The Sun made 7 of 10 shots for a 16-4 lead to start the game. It was 26-13 after one quarter before Atlanta slowly battled back.
Hayes and Brittney Sykes had 14 points each for the Dream (1-4).
Tina Charles scored 21 points and Bria Hartley added 17 to help the New York Liberty end a franchise-long 17-game losing streak with an 88-78 win over the Las Vegas Aces.
The Liberty (1-4) last had a win on July 15, 2018 when they beat Chicago by 23 points. New York lost the final 13 games of the season after that victory and the first four this year before the win over the Aces.
They were tied for the third longest losing streak in WNBA history, trailing only Indiana's 18-game skid and Tulsa's record 20-game run.
New York got off to a strong start and led 74-70 early in the fourth quarter before scoring seven straight points capped by Charles' jumper with 4:10 left. Las Vegas (2-3) could only get within eight the rest of the way.
Kayla McBride led Las Vegas with 25 points and Liz Cambage added 17 points and 10 rebounds. Rookie of the Year A'ja Wilson saw her streak of scoring in double figures end at 37 when she was held to just five.
New York built its eight-point halftime lead to 59-43 after a steal and layup by Hartley. Las Vegas rallied, scoring 13 of the next 14 points to cut its deficit to 60-56. The Liberty led 68-62 after three quarters.
Tianna Hawkins and Aerial Powers combined for 39 points off the bench as the Washington Mystics cruised to an 86-62 win over the winless Dallas Wings.
Hawkins hit 7 of 9 shots with three 3-pointers for a career-high 21 points and Powers was 6 of 10 with two 3s for 18. Elena Delle Donne and Kristi Toliver added 14 points apiece for the Mystics (4-1) and Natasha Cloud had 13. Delle Donne had nine rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal.
Dallas (0-4) had an 11-0 run in the first quarter and led 20-15. Washington, who have now won four straight, went on a 12-2 run in the second quarter, taking a 25-24 lead on a Hawkins 3. A 7-2 surge in the last 70 seconds put the Mystics on top 40-34 at the break. The margin was 10 after three quarters and Washington dominated the fourth.
The Mystics went 12 of 31 from distance while the Wings were 3 of 14 and went 14 of 16 from the line while Dallas was 3 of 6.
Glory Johnson led Dallas with 15 points but only had 11 in the second half. Imani McGee-Stafford added 11 points.
Brittney Griner scored 26 points and DeWanna Bonner added 25 as the Phoenix Mercury used a dominant first half to defeat the Indiana Fever 94-87 on Sunday.
Griner and former Indiana point guard Briann January both had 14 in the first half when the Mercury took a 53-28 lead at the half. It was 81-54 in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter before the Fever stormed back, hitting five 3-pointers in cutting 20 points off the deficit.
Reserve Leilani Mitchell had two of her four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and scored 17 for the Mercury (2-2) and January added 16. Phoenix made 9 of 18 3-pointers and had 26 assists on 34 baskets. Five players had at least four assists, led by Mitchell's six.
Kelsey Mitchell hit four 3-pointers and had 26 points for the Fever (3-2). Kennedy Burke went 4 of 4 from distance, 7 of 8 overall and added 18 points with Tiffany Mitchell scoring 17. Indiana was 10 of 16 behind the arc.
Phoenix shot 53 percent in the half with 15 assists on 20 baskets with only one turnover.
Cheyenne Parker came off the bench and scored 18 points with 11 rebounds as the Chicago Sky held off the Seattle Storm 78-71.
Stephanie Dolson added 15 points and Courtney Vandersloot 11 with seven assists for the Sky (2-2), who had their best defensive game of the season after giving up 105 in their last outing.
The defending champions and short-handed Storm (3-3) continued their pattern of following a win with a loss, three of the losses on the road. Natasha Howard and Jewell Loyd had 20 points apiece.
Chicago got off to a strong start, leading 29-16 after one quarter and 43-17 early in the second but Seattle scored 17 straight points and closed with 44-34 at the half.
The Storm were as close as six in the third quarter but a 9-0 run early in the third quarter pushed the lead to 71-55.
Seattle shot 38 percent and was 3 of 18 from distance. Chicago, who had 20 turners, had eight 3-pointers but only had eight points from the foul line while the Storm were 16 of 19.
