UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Rachel Banham scored a career-high 24 points, hitting eight 3-pointers to match the Connecticut record, and help the Sun beat the Phoenix Mercury 96-69 on Sunday.
Banham, who was 8 for 11 from behind the arc, matched Shekinna Stricklen’s mark. She was one short of the WNBA record.
DeWanna Bonner added 17 points and Brionna Jones had 16 for the Sun. DiJonai Carrington had 12 points and 11 rebounds.
The game saw the return of Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner and Natasha Cloud. Taurasi (left leg) and Cloud (left knee) missed the team’s previous game against Indiana on Friday. Griner injured her right hip in that game.
Taurasi and Griner both are part of the U.S. Olympic team that will start training in Phoenix next week to prepare for the Paris Games.
ACES 89, MYSTICS 77
WASHINGTON (AP) — A’ja Wilson scored 28 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, Kelsey Plum scored 22 points and Las Vegas rallied from a 13-point second-quarter deficit to beat Washington for their fourth win in a row.
Tiffany Hayes tied her season best with 17 points and added a season-high five assists for Las Vegas (16-7).
The Aces — who started the season 6-6, matching their loss total from the 2023 regular season in the first 12 games of 2024 — have won 10 of their last 11 since the return of point guard Chelsea Gray. The 2022 WNBA Finals MVP returned from a foot injured (suffered in the 2023 Finals) on June 19 and Las Vegas has nine wins by 10-plus points since her debut.
Plum hit a driving layup about three minutes into the second half to give the Aces a 44-43 lead, their first since 2-0, and Wilson took over, scoring 14 points and grabbing eight rebounds in the third quarter as Las Vegas took a 65-62 lead into the fourth and never again trailed.
Ariel Atkins tied her career high with six 3-pointers and finished with a career-best 36 points on 13-of-25 shooting for Washington.
FEVER 81, LYNX 74
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kelsey Mitchell scored 21 points, and Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark finished with 17 points to help Indiana beat Minnesota.
Boston grabbed a career-best 16 rebounds and blocked four shots for the Fever. NaLyssa Smith added 11 points.
Indiana (11-14), which lost 10 of its first 13 games but has won eight of 12 since, has won back-to-back games and three of its last four.
Clark set up Boston for a layup before Katie Lou Samuelson fed Boston for another basket inside to give the Fever a four-point lead with 2 minutes to go. Kayla McBride cut the deficit to a point with a 3-pointer just 8 seconds later but Clark was fouled and made two free throws to make it 77-74. Mitchell swooped in to block a layup attempt by Alanna Smith with 22 seconds remaining, was fouled and hit two free throws to make it a five-point game with 16 seconds left and Clark made two fouls shots to cap the scoring 6 seconds later.
Alanna Smith had 18 points, eight rebounds and four steals despite being forced to the bench by foul trouble in the second half for Minnesota (16-8). Bridget Carleton tied her career high with five 3-pointers and finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier (foot) missed her fourth consecutive game.
STORM 81, Dream 70
SEATTLE (AP) — Ezi Magbegor scored 18 points and Jordan Horston added 16 to lead five Seattle players scoring in double figures as they beat Atlanta.
Jewell Loyd had 14 points and seven assists, Sami Whitcomb scored 13 and Nneka Ogwumike finished with 10 points, 12 rebounds, two steals and two blocks for the Storm (16-8).
Atlanta cut its deficit to a point on two occasions early in the fourth quarter but the Storm answered each time and used a 13-2 run, beginning with two free throws by Loyd with 5:33 to play, that gave Seattle its biggest lead of the game when Horston’s layup capped the spurt and made it 81-67 with 1:42 remaining.
Atlanta (7-16) has lost seven straight games and 10 of 11. Rhyne Howard, the 2022 WNBA rookie of the year and a two-time WNBA All-Star, has missed 10 consecutive games since she suffered an ankle injury during a 68-55 loss to the Minnesota Lynx on June 19 in Minneapolis. The Dream’s 78-74 win at Connecticut on June 28 is their only victory since Howard went down.
Maya Caldwell scored a career-high 19 points to lead the Dream and Aerial Powers added 14 points, Tina Charles and Allisha Gray scored 12 apiece.
The Associated Press
