League leaders Seattle beat Mystics as Bird returns; Quigley becomes Sky's leading all-time scorer in loss to Lynx
Thursday 3 September 2020 07:30, UK
Candace Parker scored 22 points with 10 rebounds and six assists to lead the Los Angeles Sparks to a 91-83 victory over the Dallas Wings on Wednesday night.
Candace Parker scored 22 points with 10 rebounds and six assists to lead the Los Angeles Sparks to a 91-83 victory over the Dallas Wings on Wednesday night.
Brittany Sykes added 19 points and Chelsea Gray 16 for the playoff-bound Sparks, who shot 52 per cent overall and 53 per cent (9-of-17) from three-point range. Los Angeles bounced back from a 96-78 loss to Minnesota on Monday that snapped a nine-game winning streak.
Parker started off just 1-of-5 shooting as the Sparks (13-4) fell behind 23-17 after the first quarter. She then got going, scoring nine in a 31-point second period as the Sparks took a 48-39 lead at half-time. A Parker basket midway through the third quarter put Los Angeles up 18. She finished with 8-of-15 shooting for the game.
League-leading scorer Arike Ogunbowale finished with 17 points for Dallas - a point short of 1,000 for her career - for her 28th straight game of at least 15 points, the third-longest streak in WNBA history.
Satou Sabally had 16 points and 11 rebounds and Allisha Gray also scored 16 points for Wings (6-11), who are clinging to the eighth and final playoff berth.
The Sparks' Nneka Ogwumike missed her second straight game with an ailing back.
Breanna Stewart led league-leading Seattle with 16 points despite a poor shooting night and the Storm welcomed back Sue Bird with a 71-64 victory over the Washington Mystics.
Stewart, the Storm's leading scorer at 19.8 points per game, was only 4-of-17 shooting while grabbing 14 rebounds. Natasha Howard and Jewell Loyd each shot over 50 per cent in scoring 13 points each.
Bird, who finished with nine points in 24 minutes, was back in the starting line-up for Seattle after missing the last four games with knee issues that have been bothering her the entire season. She has sat out nine of the Storm's 17 games.
Seattle (14-3) remain a game ahead of second-place Los Angeles (13-4).
Washington's leading scorer, Myisha Hines-Howard (15.7 PPG), had just two points on 1-of-8 shooting. Emma Meesseman scored 17 points and Jacki Gemelos and Tianna Hawkins 10 each for the Mystics (4-12), who remain outside the top eight that will advance to the playoffs.
The Storm led by eight points at half-time before opening the third quarter on a 10-2 run to lead 48-32 with Bird capping the surge with a jumper six minutes left in the period. The Storm led 57-44 heading into the fourth quarter with Washington getting with five twice in the final 1:30.
Damiris Dantas scored a career-high 28 points including the go-ahead basket with just under five minutes left and the Minnesota Lynx edged Chicago 86-83 on a night Allie Quigley became the Sky's all-time leading scorer.
Dantas made all five of her three-point attempts but it was a lay-up that put Minnesota up for good at 80-79. Crystal Dangerfield extended the lead with a three-point play. With 34.4 seconds left, Courtney Vandersloot got Chicago within two and the Sky got the ball back with 17.6 left. But Vandersloot lost the ball driving and Odyssey Sims added a free throw with 3.1 left before Vandersloot wasn't close with a heave.
Dangerfield finished with 15 points and Mikiah Herbert Harrigan 10 for Minnesota (12-5), who have won six of their last eight games and have already qualified for the playoffs, as has Chicago (11-7). The win gave Minnesota a season sweep of Chicago and the tie-breaker.
Quigley finished with 23 points for 2,939 in her Sky career while going over 3,000 in the league play. She passed Sylvia Fowles (2,927), who has been sidelined for the Lynx with a calf injury since mid-August.
Cheyenne Parker finished with 20 points and 15 rebounds. Vandersloot, coming off a WNBA-record 18 assists, had 13 points and 12 assists.
Minnesota, who shot 10-of-19 from beyond the arc, saw an 18-point lead cut to two in the third quarter before taking an eight-point lead into the final period.
