Breanna Stewart scored 32, Sabrina Ionescu followed her with 25 and the New York Liberty rolled past Seattle 98-85 in the headliner of the WNBA Saturday action. Leonie Fiebich added 12 points for the Liberty (27-7), who bounced back after losing to the last-place Los Angeles Sparks.
Liberty dominated the boards 45-17, with New York having 17 offensive rebounds. The winning side shot 50.7% and was 12 of 26 from 3-point range. Seattle (19-12) dropped into a tie with Las Vegas for fourth place but clinched a WNBA playoffs spot after Atlanta and Chicago’s losses on Saturday.
Skylar Diggins-Smith scored 26 but had just two in the fourth quarter to go with seven assists. Jewell Loyd had 20 points and Nneka Ogwumike had 15 for the Storm.
Marina Mabrey hit five 3-pointers and scored 21 points, DiJonai Carrington scored 11 of her 17 points in the first quarter and the Connecticut Sun beat the Washington Mystics 96-85. DeWanna Bonner and Tyasha Harris each scored 16 points for Connecticut (23-8).
Connecticut’s lead reached 20 points at 84-64 early in the fourth quarter before Washington hit 3-pointers on five straight possessions during a 15-2 run and closed within 86-79 with 5:37 left.
However, Washington remained scoreless for the next four minutes and ultimately fell behind again as Sun earned their 23rd victory in the season.
Ariel Atkins led Washington (9-23) with 15 points, and Stefanie Dolson added 14 points.
WNBA results from Saturday (31/8)
Indiana Fever (16-16) vs Chicago Sky (11-20) 100-81
Minnesota Lynx (23-9) vs Dallas Wings (9-22) 74-96
Atlanta Dream (10-21) vs Las Vegas Aces (19-12) 72-83
New York Liberty (27-6) vs Seattle Storm (19-12) 98-85
Connecticut Sun (23-8) vs Washington Mystics (9-23) 96-85
