Brianna Stewart leads Storm past Wings with late free throws | CBC Sports

Brianna Stewart scored 32 points, making two free throws with 6.7 seconds remaining, and the Seattle Storm beat the Dallas Wings 89-88 on Friday night.

Stewart, who leads the league with a 20.2-point scoring average, made 12 of 22 shots with three 3-pointers and grabbed 11 rebounds for Seattle (7-5). The Storm picked up their first road win in their third try this season. Jewell Loyd also hit three 3s, scoring 18 with five assists. Ezi Magbegor had 13 points and two blocks.

Dallas rookie center Awak Kuier became the first player to dunk this season, stealing the ball at half-court and finishing at the 4:09 mark to get the Wings to 16-10.

Dallas trailed 66-59 heading into the final quarter, but battled back to grab a 74-73 lead on Ogunbowale’s basket with 5:18 left. Stewart’s three-point play with 40.7 seconds left put the Storm up 86-85.

Ogunbowale’s three-point play with 12.9 seconds to go gave the Wings their last lead. Stewart followed with her free throws and Ogunbowale missed a 3-pointer on the game’s final shot.

Taurasi, Charles help Mercury edge Dream

Diana Taurasi had 23 points and six assists, Tina Charles scored 20 with nine rebounds and the Phoenix Mercury held off the Atlanta Dream 90-88 on Friday night.

Skylar Diggins-Smith added 18 points for Phoenix (4-8), while Diamond DeShields and Shey Peddy scored 10 apiece.

Rhyne Howard scored 25 with five assists to lead Atlanta (7-6). Cheyenne Parker finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds, while Aari McDonald scored 13.

A three-point play by Diggins-Smith followed by Charles’ 3-pointer gave the Mercury a 74-60 lead with 6:24 remaining in the game. The Dream battled back, using five straight points by Parker to pull within 89-88 with 9.9 seconds left. Atlanta had the ball last after Taurasi missed the second of two free throws, but Parker and AD Durr couldn’t get shots to drop.

Sky hit late free throws to beat Sun

Emma Meesseman scored 20 of her 26 points in the first half, Candace Parker added 18 points and the Chicago Sky beat the Connecticut Sun 83-79 on Friday night in a rematch of the WNBA Finals.

Parker made two free throws with 28.4 seconds left for an 80-79 lead. After a timeout, Courtney Williams missed a shot in the lane and Parker was fouled again before making two free throws for a three-point lead with 12.9 left. Rebekah Gardner, a 31-year-old rookie, stole a pass under the basket and added another free throw to seal it.

Meesseman, averaging 10.9 points, scored 20 in the first half on 9-of-10 shooting. Her three-point play capped the first-half scoring to give Chicago a 45-44 lead.

Brionna Jones scored 20 points and DeWanna Bonner added 18 for Connecticut (10-4), which had its four-game winning streak snapped. Alyssa Thomas had 11 points and eight assists.

Bonner made her first 3-pointer of the game to pull Connecticut within 78-77 and she made a jumper on the next possession for a one-point lead.

Howard, Dolson spark Liberty in win over Fever

Natasha Howard had 25 points and 10 rebounds, Stefanie Dolson scored all nine of her points in a pivotal third quarter and the New York Liberty rolled to a 97-83 victory over the Indiana Fever on Friday night.

Howard sank 12 of 16 shots from the floor with a 3-pointer and added five assists for the Liberty, who picked up their second road win in six tries. Han Xu scored 16 in 16 minutes off the bench. Sabrina Ionescu tallied 13 points, seven assists and six rebounds, while reserve Marine Johannes scored 11 with six assists.

Kelsey Mitchell topped Indiana, which fell to 2-6 at home, with 23 points. Nalyssa Smith contributed 15 points and nine boards, while Victoria Vivians scored 11 on 3-of-12 shooting.

New York shot 58.5. Indiana shot 41.3.

Hines-Allen scores season-high in Mystics victory

Myisha Hines-Allen scored a season-high 17 points, Ariel Atkins added 12 points and the Washington Mystics beat the Minnesota Lynx 76-59 on Friday night.

Elizabeth Williams added 11 points and Shakira Austin grabbed 13 rebounds for Washington (9-5). Elena Delle Donne, who left a game on Wednesday with back pain in the first half, did not play.

Hines-Allen, who entered averaging 6.2 points per game, was 6 of 8 from the field with three 3-pointers.

Aerial Powers scored 12 points for Minnesota (3-10), which shot just 32.8% from the field and turned it over 17 times. Rachel Banham added 10 points and Jessica Shepard tied her career-high with 15 rebounds.

Minnesota was without center Sylvia Fowles, who is out indefinitely due to a cartilage injury in her right knee. The seven-time All-Star previously announced this will be her final WNBA season. Fowles is averaging 16.5 points, 10.3 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks. She leads the league in field goal percentage (64.1) and rebounds per game.