Storm beat Mercury 82-75 head into break with top record
EVERETT, Wash. (AP) — Epiphanny Prince scored 15 points, Katie Lou Samuelson matched her career high with 14, and the Seattle Storm beat the Phoenix Mercury 82-75 on Sunday.
Jewell Loyd’s 3-pointer with 1:48 left gave the Storm (16-5) a six-point lead and Sue Bird’s running bank shot was the dagger, making it 80-72 at 43.9 seconds.
Seattle goes into the Olympic break with the best record in the WNBA and will return from it to open a five-game road trip, with a 47-day stretch until their next home game on Aug. 27 when they visit the Chicago Sky. Breanna Stewart and Bird added 13 points each.
Kia Nurse scored 28 points and had a career high seven 3-pointers for the Mercury (9-10). Skylar Diggins-Smith added 17 points and Brittney Griner scored 16.
ACES 95, WINGS 79
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — A’ja Wilson had 22 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists to help Las Vegas beat Dallas.
Dearica Hamby also had 22 points and 12 boards for the Aces (15-6), who were missing Liz Cambage. The 6-foot-8 Australian is training with her country to get ready for the Tokyo Games.
The Aces used a 33-point second quarter to rally from a five-point deficit and take a 48-42 lead into halftime. Kelsey Plum was huge in that second quarter and finished the game with 16 points. Jackie Young had 17 for Las Vegas also, which put the game away in the third quarter.
Moriah Jefferson and Allisha Gray each scored 14 points to lead Dallas (9-12).
FEVER 79, DREAM 68
COLLEGE PARK, Ga. (AP) — Teaira McCowan had 21 points and 14 rebounds to help the Fever beat the Dream.
The Fever (4-16) won their third in a row after 12 straight losses.
Tiffany Mitchell added 14 points, Danielle Robinson scored 12, Kelsey Mitchell 11 and Jessica Breland 10.
Indiana pulled away with 14 straight points for a 77-61 lead on Robinson’s basket with 3:53 left. Crystal Bradford stopped the run with 1 of 2 free throws and Aari McDonald’s 3-pointer with 2:08 left was the first of the game by the Dream (6-13). Atlanta finished 1 of 13 from 3-point range.
Odyssey Sims had 20 points and Bradford added 14 for Atlanta, which opened the game on a 12-2 run.
SUN 71, LIBERTY 54
NEW YORK (AP) — Jonquel Jones had 17 points, 17 rebounds and five assists as the Sun routed the Liberty.
It was Jones’ 10th double-double of the season for the Sun (14-6), who go into the Olympic break sitting in third place in the standings. Jasmine Thomas added 12 points and Briann January 10.
Connecticut played stellar defense, holding the Liberty to just 30% shooting from the field. Kylee Shook made a career-high four 3-pointers and scored 16 points to lead New York (10-11). She made six of her eight shots while the rest of the team was just 11 for 48 from the field.
