Fever win five straight without Clark, beat Storm 78-74
Aliyah Boston had 16 points and 12 rebounds. Her run of nine straight Indiana points in the middle of the fourth quarter put the Fever up 73-61 with 4:41 to play.
The Storm charged back, pulling within 73-72 on a three-point play by Skylar Diggins with 3:14 to go. Kelsey Mitchell made a short jumper for Indiana before the Storm missed their next five shots, including four 3-pointers on one possession before Dominique Malonga scored inside with 12.2 seconds left.
On the ensuing inbounds play, Lexie Hull got the ball to Mitchell for a layup with 8.1 to go and the Storm couldn't hit a tying 3 before Boston's free throw.
Sophie Cunningham added 17 points for the Fever (17-12), who are now 9-7 in games Clark missed.
Nneka Ogwumike scored 16 points for the Storm (16-13), who dropped their second straight at home. Diggins added 13 points and Gabby Williams and Malonga both had 12. Seattle lost to Los Angeles 108-106 in two overtimes on Friday night.
Indiana led 19-16 after one quarter and had an 8-0 surge late in the second to lead by 10 before Seattle scored to make it 42-34 at the half.
The Fever went up 55-42 on Cunningham's 3-pointer midway through the third quarter but the Storm closed on a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to 58-54 entering the fourth. Indiana didn't have a field goal over the last 4 1/2 minutes.
Olympic gold medal gymnast Jordan Chiles was courtside for the game, which drew 16,819 fans.
LIBERTY 87, SUN 78
UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Sabrina Ionescu scored 36 points, Emma Meesseman had 11 points in her return to the WNBA and New York snapped a four-game losing streak with a win over Connecticut.
Jonquel Jones added 21 points and nine rebounds for the Liberty (18-10), who were without All-Star Breanna Stewart for a fourth-straight game because of a bruised knee.
Tina Charles had 17 points and eight rebounds and Anneesah Moorow 16 points and nine rebounds for the the Sun (5-22), who handed the Liberty their worst loss of the season on Friday 78-62. Bria Hartley added 12 points and Marina Mabrey 10.
Meesseman, a former finals MVP who last played in the league in 2022 before winning the EuroLeague Women's MVP the last three seasons, did all her damage in the second half. Ionescu had 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season to go with her fifth 30-point game as she finished a point shy of her career best. She also surpassed 1,000 assists, the third-fastest to reach that milestone.
Ionescu had 16 points of New York's first 20 and the Liberty scored the last nine of the first quarter to take a 25-19 lead that they never relinquished. She had 20 and Jones 13 for a 45-38 lead at the half.
Meesseman got on the scoreboard with a pair of free throws early in the third quarter, and scored seven during a 9-2 surge that saw the Liberty turn a four-point lead into the first double-figure lead of the day, 54-43. New York took a 66-57 lead into the fourth quarter.
DREAM 99, MYSTICS 83
COLLEGE PARK, Ga. (AP) — Brionna Jones scored 23 points, Allisha Gray added 22 and Atlanta overcame a slow start to pull away from Washington.
The Dream missed their first six shots and fell behind 10-0 but dominated the middle two quarters, outscoring the Mystics 59-37. They shot 56% after going 3 of 13 in the first quarter.
Naz Hillmon had 14 points, 13 rebounds and five assists. Jordan Canada finished with 16 points and nine assists for the Dream (18-11), who won their third straight and set a season high for points in the second straight game.
Kiki Irafen scored 22 points for the Mystics (13-15), Sonia Citron and Shakira Austin both added 16 and Sug Sutton had 13. Washington has lost two straight and five of seven to drop into ninth place.
Washington led 23-12 after one quarter. Then Atlanta made 11 of 19 shots and forced nine turnovers in the second quarter to go in front 40-39 at the half.
The Dream closed the half with a 17-4 run, fueled by their defense. They forced 16 turnovers for 21 points in the first half and Gray had 12 points.
Jones scored 14 points and Atlanta made 13 of 20 shots in the third quarter, adding 10 more points off Washington turnovers and led by many as 13. The Dream went into the fourth quarter up 71-60.
Atlanta converted 22 turnovers into 33 points.
ACES 101, VALKYRIES 77
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jewell Loyd tied a Las Vegas record with seven 3-pointers and scored a season-high 27 points, and the Aces bounced back from a 53-point loss to roll past Golden State.
Tipping off 25 hours after getting beat 111-58 by league-leading Minnesota in the worst home defeat in WNBA history, the Aces took out their frustrations on the expansion Valkyries, who had won three straight road games.
Las Vegas led 50-25 at halftime with Aces reserves scoring 25 points, while the Valkyries' bench had two points. The Aces finished with 18 3-pointers, tying the franchise record.
Jackie Young scored 20 points for the Aces (15-14). A'ja Wilson had 14 points and 14 rebounds, and Chelsea Gray added 11 points.
Ilana Rupert led the Valkyries (14-14) with 17 points and eight rebounds. Carla Leite and Laeticia Amihere both had 14 points and Kaila Charles added 13.
The Aces led 27-14 after one quarter, making 9 of 16 shots.
In the closing seconds of the second quarter, Golden State's Janelle Salaun was given a Flagrant 2 foul for knocking Loyd to the ground behind the play. Salaun was ejected and Loyd made the free throws and Kirstan Bell hit a buzzer beater for the 25-point halftime lead.
MERCURY 83, SKY 67
CHICAGO (AP) — Kahleah Copper scored 25 points, Alyssa Thomas had a triple-double and Phoenix beat Chicago, handing the Sky their eighth straight loss.
Thomas had 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for her second triple-double with the Mercury and her 13th in the regular season.
Sami Whitcomb added 11 points for the Mercury (17-11), who had lost two straight and five of six. They outscored the Sky 56-32 in the middle two quarters and had 30 fastbreak points to just three for Chicago. All-Star Satou Sabally was not with the team for personal reasons.
Elizabeth Williams had 13 points and 15 rebounds for the Sky (7-21), who were without Angel Reese. Michaela Onyenwere also scored 13 points and Kamilla Cardoso had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Chicago was outrebounded 45-40 and outscored in the paint 46-34.
Reese missed her second straight game and fourth in five games with a bad back.
After making 5 of 25 shots in the first quarter when Chicago took a 19-13 lead the Mercury made 12 of 15 in the second and raced to a 42-34 halftime advantage. Copper had 10 points and Phoenix had 10 offensive rebounds and 17 fastbreak points.
The lead ballooned to 24 points in the third quarter as the Mercury made 10 of 16 shots.
The game featured sisters Maddy and Kathryn Westbeld facing off for the second time. Maddy was a second-round draft pick of the Sky and Kathryn made the Mercury after playing nine seasons overseas. Maddy had nine points in 22 minutes and Kathryn none in six minutes. Kathryn had 13 points in a 94-89 Mercury win in the teams' first meeting early in the season, but Maddy did not play.
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