Thursday night wins for Minnesota Lynx and Washington Mystics
Friday 31 July 2020 07:07, UK
Candace Parker scored 10 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked three shots as the Los Angeles Sparks beat the Connecticut Sun 81-76 on Thursday night.
Candace Parker scored 10 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked three shots while team-mate Chelsea Gray had 15 points and six assists as the Los Angeles Sparks beat the Connecticut Sun 81-76 on Thursday night.
Nneka Ogwumike scored 14 points and Seimone Augustus 13 for the Sparks.
DeWanna Bonner had 34 points, 14 rebounds and five assists and Alyssa Thomas 10 points, 18 rebounds and six assists for Connecticut (0-3).
Brittney Sykes hit a jumper and then made two free throws to cap an 8-0 spurt that gave Los Angeles (2-1) the lead for good at 58-54 with two minutes left in the third quarter.
Bonner made a short jumper and then Thomas made 1-of-2 free throws to pull the Sun within a point, but Augustus answered with a three-pointer, sparking a 13-2 run that made it 71-59 with seven minutes to go.
Bonner made 12-of-19 shots from the field but the rest of the Sun players shot just 25.9 per cent (14-of-54).
Napheesa Collier scored 10 of her 20 points in the fourth quarter and finished with 10 rebounds and the Minnesota Lynx held on to beat the Chicago Sky 83-81.
Damiris Dantas added 14 points, Rachel Banham scored 13 and Sylvia Fowles had 10 points and seven rebounds for Minnesota (2-1).
Azura Stevens had 16 points and 11 rebounds and Cheyenne Parker added 16 points and 10 boards for the Sky (2-1).
Crystal Dangerfield made two free throws to give the Lynx a 12-point lead with 3:26 to play, but Parker hit a three-pointer eight seconds later to spark a 10-3 run that trimmed Chicago's deficit to 79-74 when Stevens made a triple with 1:41 to go.
Collier answered with a lay-up, but Courtney Vandersloot made a lay-up and then Diamond DeShields had a steal and a layup to make it a three-point game with 53.6 seconds left.
After two free throws by Collier, Allie Quigley's three-pointer capped the scoring with 38.2 remaining.
Vandersloot missed two potential tying lay-ups in the final seven seconds and Gabby Williams couldn't convert an alley-oop at the buzzer.
Ariel Atkins scored 22 points and led four scorers in double figures as the Washington Mystics beat the Seattle Storm 89-71.
Myisha Hines-Allen scored 17, Leilani Mitchell added 12 and Emma Meesseman 10 as Washington (3-0) built a seven-point lead in the first quarter and opened up an 18-point lead by half-time with a 29-18 scoring surge in the second period.
Breanna Stewart finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds for Seattle (2-1). Sami Whitcomb pitched in with 11 points.
