Friday 6 September 2019 10:27, UK
Candace Parker scored 20 points as the Los Angeles Sparks wrapped up the No 3 seed with a 102-68 victory over the Seattle Storm on Thursday night.
Candace Parker scored 20 points as the Los Angeles Sparks wrapped up the No 3 seed with a 102-68 victory over the Seattle Storm on Thursday night.
The defending champion Storm (17-16) dropped a half-game below Minnesota, but they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker against their first-round opponent. With some help from the Lynx, Seattle can still regain the No 6 seed and host the one-game opening round.
Los Angeles took the lead for good when Sydney Wiese's 3-pointer made it 18-15 with 2:11 in the first quarter. The Sparks closed the first half on a 10-0 run to lead 50-35 and led by double digits the rest of the way.
Nneka Ogwumike added 14 points and 10 rebounds in a standout performance for Los Angeles as the 34-point victory tied for the second-largest margin in Sparks history.
Jewell Loyd and Alysha Clark both reached 200 career 3-pointers for Seattle, the only WNBA players to achieve the milestone in the same game.
Elizabeth Williams had 20 points, eight rebounds and a career-high eight blocks in the Atlanta Dream's 78-74 victory over the Las Vegas Aces on Thursday night.
The Aces (20-13) gave the Chicago Sky (19-13) a chance to overtake them for the No 4 seed in the playoffs and a first-round bye. Las Vegas holds the tiebreaker over Chicago and can still wrap up the fourth seed with a win in the season finale Sunday at Phoenix.
A'ja Wilson scored 19 points for Las Vegas.
The Dream (8-25) took their first lead at 63-62 on Marie Gulich's layup with 5:10 left. Renee Montgomery's 3-pointer made it 68-62 and capped a 9-0 run for Atlanta.
Wilson made a pair of free throws to pull the Aces to 76-74 with 23 seconds left, but Alex Bentley answered with a pair of free throws four seconds later and Las Vegas missed its final three shots.
Atlanta avoided recording the worst record in the WNBA this season for the time being, although that distinction still potentially looms with either a loss to the New York Liberty in the season finale or a Liberty victory over Indiana on Friday.
