KELSEY MITCHELL PACES FEVER PAST LYNX
Kelsey Mitchell scored 21 points and made a decisive block in the final minute, and the Indiana Fever rallied for an 81-74 win over the Minnesota Lynx on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis.
Caitlin Clark scored 17 points and dished a team-high six assists for Indiana (11-14), which won its second game in a row. Aliyah Boston also scored 17 points and pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds.
Alanna Smith scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead Minnesota (16-8), which lost its second straight contest. Bridget Carleton scored 17 points, recorded seven boards and tallied six assists.
The Fever outscored Minnesota 28-14 in the fourth quarter to secure the victory.
Cecilia Zandalasini hit a 3-pointer for the Lynx to even the score at 71-71 with 4:26 left.
Indiana closed the game on a 10-3 run. Boston started the run with back-to-back layups, Mitchell made two free throws and Clark made four free throws in the final two minutes.
The Lynx trailed 77-74 when Smith drove to the rim with less than 25 seconds to go. Mitchell quickly closed the gap on defense and blocked Smith’s layup attempt, which led to the Fever gaining possession and Mitchell getting to the line to make it 79-74.
Minnesota led 60-53 to start the fourth quarter.
The Lynx finished the third quarter on a 12-3 run to seize a seven-point advantage. Carleton led the way after halftime as she scored 11 of her 17 points in the third quarter.
The score was even 38-38 at halftime.
Clark finished the first-half scoring when she hit a jump shot with 44.1 seconds left.
The Lynx drew a sellout crowd of 18,978, which marked the largest regular-season attendance in franchise history. Clark, who grew up in neighboring Iowa, received a standing ovation as she took the court with her teammates for pregame warmups.
Clark drew a technical foul in the third quarter. As she dribbled the ball down the court, she took exception to aggressive defense from Zandalasini and flicked her right arm, which struck the defender in the face.
Napheesa Collier, the Lynx’s top scorer on the season, missed her fourth straight game because of a foot injury.
STORM WRAP UP 9-GAME HOMESTAND BY DISPATCHING DREAM
Ezi Magbegor scored 18 points and Jordan Horston added 16 to fuel the host Seattle Storm to an 81-70 victory over the Atlanta Dream on Sunday.
Magbegor and Horston each made 8 of 11 shots from the floor to help the Storm (16-8) finish their WNBA-record nine-game homestand with a 7-2 mark.
Jewell Loyd collected 14 points and seven assists and Nneka Ogwumike contributed 10 points, 12 rebounds to record her sixth double-double of the season and the 107th of her career, fourth-most in league history.
Sami Whitcomb added 13 points off the bench for Seattle, which saw Skylar Diggins-Smith sustain an ankle injury in the second quarter. Diggins-Smith did not return for the start of the second half.
Maya Caldwell scored a career-high 19 points to go along with five rebounds, four assists and three steals to pace Atlanta.
Aerial Powers recorded 14 points and eight rebounds off the bench, and Tina Charles and Allisha Gray each had 12 points for the Dream (7-16), who have lost seven games in a row and 10 of their last 11.
Cheyenne Parker-Tyus’ tip-in brought Atlanta within one point at 62-61 with about eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Seattle countered with a 19-6 run, capped by Magbegor making a layup and a 17-foot jumper and Loyd and Horston each adding a layup.
Whitcomb drained her third 3-pointer to stake Seattle to a 50-40 lead early in the third quarter, before Atlanta cut the deficit to one early in the fourth. Caldwell made two layups, a mid-range jumper and 3-pointer to power the Dream before Gray’s 13-footer trimmed the Storm’s advantage to 60-59.
Powers made a bucket in the interior to give Atlanta a 30-28 lead with 7:53 remaining in the second quarter before Seattle scored the game’s next 12 points. Whitcomb sank a pair of 3-pointers in transition and Victoria Vivians also connected from beyond the arc during that surge.
Atlanta answered by scoring six of the final eight points of the quarter to cut Seattle’s lead to 42-36 at halftime.
A’JA WILSON RALLIES ACES PAST ARIEL ATKINS, MYSTICS
A’ja Wilson had 28 points as the visiting Las Vegas Aces overcame a sizeable early deficit — and a career day by Ariel Atkins — to take down the Washington Mystics 89-77 Sunday.
Wilson added 17 rebounds and was dominating in the second half as the Aces pulled away late. It was her 14th double-double of the season. Kelsey Plum had 22 points for Las Vegas, while Tiffany Hayes had season-high-tying 17 off the bench and a game-sealing 3-pointer with 2:03 left to put the Aces ahead 82-71.
Las Vegas (16-7) has won 10 of its last 11 games and is 8-3 on the road this season. The Aces swept the season series with the Mystics 3-0.
Atkins, in her seventh year in the WNBA, had a career-high 36 points for Washington on 13-of-25 shooting from the floor, including six 3-pointers. The Mystics (6-18) have lost five of their last seven games.
Washington started the game by making its first six shots from the floor. Atkins scored the first seven points for her team and at the 4:57 mark of the first quarter, the Mystics led 16-6.
Atkins finished the first quarter with 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting, including four triples. It was the most points any Mystic had scored in a single quarter this season. Washington led by as many as 15 points.
The two-time defending WNBA champs found their footing in the second quarter and the Mystics went cold, going 5:54 between field goals. Washington still led 40-31 after an Atkins pull-up jumper with 2:53 left, but the Aces scored the next nine points with Hayes, Plum and Jackie Young each sinking 3-pointers.
Washington answered with a 3 by Julie Vanloo and led 43-40 at the half.
Las Vegas surged ahead in the third quarter, taking the lead for the first time since 2-0 on a layup by Plum early in the third quarter that made it 44-43. Wilson went on to score 14 points in the third quarter and Las Vegas led 65-62 going to the fourth.
RACHEL BANHAM SETS WNBA 3-POINT RECORD AS SUN PULL AWAY FROM MERCURY
Rachel Banham had the hot hand, drilling a career-best eight 3-pointers and scoring 24 points while Dijonai Carrington recorded her first career double-double (12 points, career-high 11 rebounds) as the Connecticut Sun rolled past the visiting Phoenix Mercury 96-69 Sunday afternoon.
Banham’s last 3-pointer came with 6.7 seconds to go as the Sun extended their lead to 96-67. She set the single-game WNBA record for 3-pointers in a game by a bench player.
Connecticut (18-5) utilized a balanced attack that also featured 17 points from DeWanna Bonner and 16 points out of Brionna Jones as the Sun improved to 3-0 this season against the Mercury (12-12).
Kaleah Copper led Phoenix with 17 points. Brittney Griner added 16 and Natasha Cloud scored 10 for the Mercury, who lost their second in a row.
Only ahead 48-42 at the half, the Sun turned the tide in the third quarter, outscoring the Mercury 19-9. The period ended with Bonner hitting a turnaround jumper as time expired as Connecticut led 67-51 going into the fourth.
Phoenix had the upper hand early, building an 18-9 lead with 3:40 left in the opening quarter. Copper fueled the charge with six points.
The momentum was soon ripped away as the Sun closed the quarter on an 11-2 run punctuated by Tiffany Mitchell’s off-balance shot with 53.9 to play that tied the game at 20-20.
Jones grabbed a rebound and was fouled trying to go back up for a shot, hitting two free throws to put the Sun up 31-29 with 5:44 to go. That was the start of a 7-0 run capped by Banham’s third 3-pointer of the quarter, giving Connecticut a 36-29 lead with 4:48 to play.
Banham hit her fourth shot from distance with 23 seconds left in the half and then almost knocked down a desperation 3-point shot at the buzzer before the ball bounced off the rim.
Connecticut took its first double-digit lead of the day with 8:57 remaining in the third when Carrington sank two free throws for a 52-42 cushion.
The Mercury failed to respond and trailed by as many as 23 in the second half.