UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Napheesa Collier scored 23 points, Olivia Miles added 21 and the Minnesota Lynx beat the Connecticut Sun 101-89 on Sunday to get closer to clinching the top seed in the WNBA playoffs.
The Lynx (32-10) moved within one win or Golden State loss from earning home-court advantage throughout the postseason. Minnesota closes with a home-and-home set against Indiana.
A big reason for the Lynx’s success this season has been the play of Miles. She broke the WNBA rookie record for points in a season that was held by Caitlin Clark. Miles got her 770th point on a free throw with 9:31 left in the second quarter. Clark finished with 769 points for Indiana in 2024.
The Lynx, who had lost three straight games, jumped out to an 11-2 lead in the first 3:30 as Collier had the game’s first four points. Courtney Williams, who starred for the Sun for five seasons, had five points during the opening spurt. Minnesota led 27-12 after the first quarter, when Collier had 10 points.
Collier helped extend the advantage to 45-26 on a layup with 3:44 left in the half before the Sun used a 15-4 spurt to get within eight. Collier had a 3-point play with 25.2 seconds left to restore the double-digit advantage.
The Sun hung around behind hot 3-point shooting. They made 12 of their first 19 from behind the arc and were down only seven points early in the fourth quarter. Connecticut finished 15 for 28 on 3s.
LIBERTY 106, TEMPO 69
TORONTO (AP) — Breanna Stewart scored 27 points to help New York rout Toronto and stay in the hunt for homecourt in the opening round of the playoffs.
New York (26-16) could finish anywhere from fourth to eighth in the playoff standings with two games remaining. The Liberty host Atlanta on Monday and Wednesday.
Stewart moved into eighth place in the WNBA’s all-time scoring list, passing Cappie Pondexter’s 6,811 points. She had six points in the first five minutes to move up on the career list. Stewart scored 24 to pass her former Seattle Storm teammate Sue Bird (6,803) in the Liberty’s 93-81 road victory over the first-place Minnesota Lynx on Friday.
The Liberty star, who earned MVP honors of the women’s FIBA World Cup, played only 22 minutes and made 10 of 14 shots and all seven of her free throws for the Liberty. The nine-year veteran has 6,833 points — next up is Candice Dupree with 6,895.
Reserve Rebecca Allen had 14 points for the Liberty and made four of the team’s 16 3-pointers.
Stewart scored nine points to help New York take a 26-19 lead after one quarter and had 13 at the half for a 45-37 advantage. She help put the game away scoring 14 points in the third quarter as the Liberty outpaced Toronto by 11 that period en route to their third consecutive victory.
MYSTICS 93, FEVER 77
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Kiki Iriafen scored 21 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to help Washington beat Indiana and pull within a game of the fifth-place Fever.
Shakira Austin added 20 points with 10 boards for the Mystics (26-16), who are one of three teams just a game behind Indiana (27-15) with two regular-season games remaining. The Fever finish with a home-and-home series on Tuesday and Thursday against the Minnesota Lynx, owners of the WNBA’s best record at 32-10.
Sonia Citron scored 16 points and just missed a double-double with nine assists. Georgia Amoore had 11 points with three 3-pointers.
The Mystics jumped out to a 34-19 lead at thge end of the first quarter. They led by as many as 26 before closing the half with a 51-30 advantage. Washington was up 77-61 entering the fourth and never were threatened.
Caitlin Clark scored 25 with five assists and Kelsey Mitchell had 22 points for the Fever. But the All-WNBA backcourt shot a combined 14 of 40 from the floor, including making just 6-of-20 3-pointers.
Fever All-Star center Aliyah Boston encountered foul trouble and scored just seven points on eight shots. And Indiana’s bench didn’t contribute a point until Raven Johnson’s jumper with 4:35 remaining in the third quarter.
SPARKS 105, FIRE 84
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nneka Ogwumike had 20 points, 12 rebounds and five assists to help Los Angeles beat Portland.
Ogwumike became the fourth player in WNBA history to reach 8,000 points, joining Diana Taurasi (10,646), Tina Charles (8,396) and DeWanna Bonner (8,217). The 2016 WNBA MVP has 8,013 points and her 18 double-doubles are the most she’s had in a season.
Los Angeles native Lisa Leslie was honored with the unveiling of her statue outside Crypto.com Arena and a halftime ceremony. Leslie, a three-time WNBA MVP, played for the Sparks from 1999-2007, helped the team to back-to-back titles in 2001 and 2002, and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015.
Rae Burrell also had 20 points, Ariel Atkins scored 14 and Chance Gray had 11 for the Sparks (16-26).
The Fire (16-27) have lost four straight and seven of eight.
ACES 98, STORM 77
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A’ja Wilson scored 30 points to help Las Vegas beat Seattle.
The four-time WNBA MVP made 16 of 18 free throws and had her 49th career 30-point game, second-most in history (Diana Taurasi, 54).
The Aces (29-13) have won five in a row and have a one-game lead over Atlanta for third place. The top four teams earn home-court advantage in the best-of-three first round of the playoffs.
The Storm (8-35), who have lost 18 of 20, clinched the worst record this season.
Rookie Flau’jae Johnson hit five 3-pointers and scored a season-high 29 points for Seattle and Dominique Malonga scored 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting.
Jackie Young made 10 of 15 from the field and finished with 23 points and eight assists for Las Vegas. Chelsea Gray scored 15 points.
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