NEW YORK (AP) — Breanna Stewart rebounded from one of the worst games of her career with a stellar effort, scoring 28 points with 14 rebounds and seven assists to lift the New York Liberty to an 89-71 win Sunday over the Phoenix Mercury, who were playing without an injured Brittney Griner.
Griner missed her second straight game with a hip injury she suffered against Seattle on Tuesday. The All-Star center received a warm standing ovation from the crowd when a video was played of her at the first timeout. Phoenix (2-8) was also missing Diana Taurasi because of a hamstring injury.
New York (7-3) had its own injury issues with Sabrina Ionescu missing her second straight game with a hamstring injury.
Stewartwas aggressive from the start. She hit an array of shots from inside and out, finishing the opening half with 23 points as New York built a 53-34 lead.
Phoenix pulled to 72-64 with 6:01 left as Sophie Cunningham scored nine points during an 11-0 run. Cunningham finished with 27 points to lead the Mercury.
Stewart ended the drought for New York by hitting a free throw and then Betnijah Laney made a jumper to restore the double-digit advantage.
DREAM 100, FEVER 94
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Allisha Gray scored 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting, Rhyne Howard added 21 points and Atlanta beat Indiana.
Cheyenne Parker had 15 points, seven rebounds and four steals for Atlanta (5-5). Nia Coffey made 3 of 4 from 3-point range, finished with 11 points and tied a career high with six assists.
Aliyah Boston, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 WNBA draft, made 10 of 15 from the field and led Indiana (4-7) with 25 points — tying her career best — and a season-high four blocks. Kelsey Mitchell added a season-high 24 points, Kristy Wallace scored 13 and NaLyssa Smith had 12.
Atlanta set season highs for single-game scoring and field-goal percentage (56.1%). The Dream shot 37 of 66 overall, made 7 of 15 from 3-point range and hit 19 of 24 from the free-throw line.
MYSTICS 77, SKY 69
WASHINGTON (AP) — Elena Delle Donne scored 20 points, Brittney Sykes added 16 points and three steals Washington won for the fourth time in five games.
Chicago (5-7) has lost four games in a row, the franchise’s longest losing streak since a seven-game skid early in the 2021 season, when the Sky responded with seven straight wins and eventually won the WNBA title.
Delle Donne made a jumper and hit two free throws before Sykes found Shakira Austin for a basket that made it 6-0 and Washington (7-4) never trailed. Sykes had 14 points on perfect shooting in the first half, going 5 of 5 from the field, including a 3-pointer, and 3 of 3 from the free-throw line.
Courtney Williams made a driving layup with about a minute left in the first half that trimmed Chicago’s deficit to 39-38, but Delle Donne answered with a three-point play to give
The Mystics led 42-38 at halftime and Austin scored five points in a 12-0 run to open the third quarter for a 16-point lead with seven minutes left in the period. Washington led by at least eight points the rest of the way.
Rookie Morgan Bertsch, who had missed the past eight games because of an ankle injury, shot 6 of 9 from the field, 4 of 5 from 3-point range to finish with 16 points and a career high-tying seven rebounds for the Sky. Marina Mabrey added 11 points, and Alanna Smith had eight points and a career-high 13 rebounds.
SUN 83, SPARKS 74
LOS ANGELES (AP) — DeWanna Bonner had 20 points and nine rebounds, Alyssa Thomas added 16 points, 12 assists and five steals, and Connecticut beat Los Angeles.
Brionna Jones scored 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds for Connecticut (9-3), which won for the third time in four games.
Thomas moved past Taj McWilliams-Franklin (3,019) into third on the Sun’s career scoring list with 3,027 points, behind Asjha Jones (3,336) and Nykesha Sales (3,955).
Karlie Samuelson hit a jumper for that made it 74-all with three minutes to play but the Sparks shot 0 for 6 the rest of the way. DiJonai Carrington hit two free throws with 2:48 remaining to give Connecticut the lead for good and spark a 9-0 closing run. Jones added a layup almost a minute later and Los Angeles coach Curt Miller was called for a technical foul with 1:27 to go. Bonner made the free throw and added a layup before Carrington hit two free throws to cap the scoring with 38.1 seconds left.
Nneka Ogwumike had 19 points and a season-high 15 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season for the Sparks (5-6). Los Angeles shot 5 for 17 (29%) from the field while getting outscored 20-11 in the fourth quarter. Jordin Canada added 14 points and six assists, Azura Stevens scored 12 points and Samuelson finished with 11.
