NEW YORK (AP) — Breanna Stewart had 24 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists to help the New York Liberty to a 98-77 win Wednesday night over the Indiana Fever, who played without star guard Caitlin Clark.
Clark missed the game after injuring her right groin on Tuesday night in the final minute of the game against Connecticut in Boston. Clark has a busy weekend ahead as Indiana is hosting the WNBA All-Star Game and she’s slated to compete in the 3-point contest and is captain of one of the two teams.
Sabrina Ionescu, who will also be in the 3-point contest, added 15 points and nine assists for the Liberty (15-6).
Stewart got the Liberty off to a strong start as they led 32-24 after one quarter and were up 15 at the half. The Liberty’s All-Star forward had 13 points, nine rebounds and five assists by the break.
New York put the game away in the third quarter behind Stewart, whose three-point play with 3:57 left made it 71-48 much to the delight of the crowd of 17,371. The Fever could only get within 15 the rest of the way.
Kelsey Mitchell led Indiana (12-11) with 16 points. The Fever fell to 4-6 when Clark has missed a regular season game this season.
DREAM 86, SKY 49
CHICAGO (AP) — Brittney Griner scored 15 points, Brionna Jones and Allisha Gray each added 14 points, and Atlanta cruised past Chicago.
Atlanta opened the third quarter on a 14-0 run and closed the frame with a 74-36 lead. The Dream made 13 field goals in the third — one more than the Sky had through three quarters.
The score was 62-26 before the Sky made their second field goal of the second half with 3:24 left in the third. The Dream led by as many as 43 in the fourth.
Rookie Te-Hina Paopao finished with 13 points and Naz Hillmon scored 10 for Atlanta (13-9). Jordin Canada had eight assists.
Rebecca Allen had a team-high nine points and three 3-pointers — all in the third quarter — for Chicago (7-15). Kamilla Cardoso added eight points and 11 rebounds.
Chicago avoided its lowest scoring game in franchise history when Moriah Jefferson made a jumper in the lane with 30.3 seconds left.
LYNX 79, MERCURY 66
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kayla McBride scored 18 points, Courtney Williams had 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and Minnesota beat Phoenix to improve to 12-0 at home this season heading into the All-Star break.
Jessica Shepard’s one-handed putback just before the third-quarter buzzer made it 64-49. The Lynx made five 3-pointers in the frame to outscore the Mercury 27-16.
Napheesa Collier scored eight of her 10 points in the third and Alanna Smith finished with 11 points for Minnesota (20-4). Williams recorded five-plus assists in her seventh straight game.
Alyssa Thomas had 12 points and nine assists, and Kalani Brown had 11 points and 11 rebounds for Phoenix (15-7). DeWanna Bonner also scored 11 points on 5-of-12 shooting.
STORM 67, VALKYRIES 58
SEATTLE (AP) — Nneka Ogwumike scored 22 points to move into sixth place on the WNBA’s all-time scoring list and Seattle beat Golden State.
Ogwumike passed Candice Dupree (6,895 points) by one point and is now behind Tamika Catchings, who scored 7,380 in her career.
The Storm (14-9) went to Ogwumike quite often down the stretch. She had 11 of her 22 points in the fourth quarter, including a pivotal layup with 2:09 remaining and a pair of free throws at the 1:18 mark to put Seattle up 61-54.
Erica Wheeler had a strong third quarter, sinking back-to-back 3-pointers early and following with a running layup at the 7:41 mark to put the Storm up 39-33.
With 2:32 to go in the third, Wheeler converted a three-point play to give Seattle a 45-37 lead. The Valkyries (10-12) made it 56-54 with just 4:48 to go in regulation on a layup from Veronica Burton.
Ogwumike’s late efforts were enough to stymie the late Golden State push.
Wheeler had 15 points. Skylar Diggins scored 10 and Lexie Brown scored seven off the bench.
Cecilia Zandalasini had 12 points and Janelle Salaun scored 10 for the Valkyries.
ACES 90, WINGS 86
DALLAS (AP) — A’ja Wilson scored a season-high 37 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season and Las Vegas held off a late rally to beat Dallas.
Wilson, who had 34 points and 16 rebounds in a 104-102 win over Golden State on Saturday, finished 15 of 25 from the field to reach 30-plus points for the fourth time this season. Her 37 points tied for most points in a WNBA game this season.
Las Vegas created separation in the third quarter by going on an 18-2 run to build a 70-48 lead. The Aces scored 12 straight points during the run as Dallas went scoreless for three-plus minutes.
The Wings rallied in the fourth, opening on a 9-1 run to get within 73-61 on a 3-pointer by Paige Bueckers. Dallas added a 3-pointer on three straight possessions to cut its deficit to 86-82 with 1:04 left.
Bueckers made a baseline jumper with 26.5 seconds left to pull within 86-84, but Wilson was fouled while making a layup at the other end for a four-point lead. The Wings missed two 3-pointers and the Aces made their free throws.
