Sparks beat Mystics as Delle Donne gets hurt
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nneka Ogwumike had a season-high 31 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Chelsea Gray had her first career triple-double, and the Los Angeles Sparks beat the Washington Mystics 98-81 on Sunday.
Ogwumike shot 11 of 15 from the field and hit a career-high five 3-pointers and Gray finished with 13 points, a career-best 10 rebounds and 13 assists. It was just the ninth triple-double in WNBA history.
Elena Delle Donne, Washington’s leading scorer (17.2 points per game) this season, left the game in the first minute with a facial injury and did not return.
Riquna Williams added 19 points, including five 3s, and Tierra Ruffin-Pratt scored 12 for Los Angeles (7-6).
Aerial Powers led the Mystics (9-4) with a career-high 24 points and Kristi Tolliver had 18 points and nine rebounds. The Mystics had their five-game win streak snapped.
ACES 90, LIBERTY 58
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) — Kayla McBride scored 24 points and Liz Cambage added 21 to lead the Aces to a rout of New York, ending the Liberty’s four-game winning streak.
Las Vegas (9-5) was playing two days after it’s game against Washington was suspended at the half after an earthquake in California stopped the game. The Aces’ court was playable, but the decision was made out of an abundance of caution to suspend it. The WNBA will decide when the game will be made up.
The Aces jumped out to a 12-2 lead and were up 12 at the half as Cambage was a force. She finished the first half with 13 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
Tina Charles scored 13 points to lead New York while second-leading scorer Kia Nurse had a rough game going 1-for-13 from the field. She missed her first 11 shots before hitting a layup early in the fourth quarter.
SKY 78, WINGS 66
CHICAGO (AP) — Jantel Lavender had a season-high 20 points and 10 rebounds, Kahleah Copper scored a season-high 16 points, and the Sky pulled away late to beat the Wings.
Diamond DeShields added 10 points and Courtney Vandersloot finished with seven points and 11 assists for Chicago. The Sky (7-7) snapped a five-game losing streak.
Theresa Plaisance hit a 3-pointer to give the Wings (4-9) a 66-63 lead with 3:59 to play but DeShields answered with a 3 and Copper made 1 of 2 free throws to make it 67-66 with three minutes left. Lavender scored six points and Stefanie Dolson added five from there to cap the scoring.
The Wings went 0 for 6 from the field with two turnovers over the final three-plus minutes.
Arike Ogunbowale led Dallas with 22 points but shot just 7 of 21 from the field, including 0 for 5 in the fourth quarter when the Wings were outscored 26-12.
MERCURY 65, DREAM 63
PHOENIX (AP) — Brittney Griner scored a season-high 31 points, including two free throws with 3.1 seconds left, to help the Mercury beat the Dream.
Griner was 11-of-15 shooting and finished with 12 rebounds and three blocks. Leilani Mitchell added 13 points and DeWanna Bonner had 11 points and a season-high 14 rebounds for Phoenix (6-6).
Atlanta’s Brittney Sykes hit two free throws, Tiffany Hayes and Renee Montgomery made back-to-back 3-pointers and Elizabeth Williams made a layup to cap a 10-0 run that made it 63-all with 16.7 seconds remaining. After Griner’s foul shots, Bonner stole a pass from Sykes to seal it.
Sykes led the Dream (3-10) with 29 points and 10 rebounds, both season highs. They have lost five of their last six.
Phoenix has won four of its last five.