WNBA leaders Seattle Storm left it until the last possible second before claiming a dramatic 90-89 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday night.
Seattle Storm 90-89 Los Angeles Sparks
Jewell Loyd made a three-pointer off an inbounds pass with 0.8 seconds left to give the Storm a victory that takes them one game clear of the Las Vegas Aces at the top of the standings.
Chelsea Gray went one of two from the free-throw line with 20.8 seconds left to give Los Angeles an 87-85 lead. It was just her second miss from the stripe this season in 41 attempts. After a timeout, Breanna Stewart drove the lane and scored on a left-handed layup to tie it.
Riquna Williams was left alone under the basket and was fouled by Stewart before making two free throws with under a second left. Seattle advanced the ball to mid-court and Sue Bird delivered the winning assist to Loyd in the corner.
Loyd finished with 25 points, going 2 of 7 from distance, for Seattle (15-3). Stewart had 20 points, eight rebounds and nine assists. Bird had 10 points and seven assists.
Candace Parker had 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists for Los Angeles (13-5). Nneka Ogwumike did not play and Gray finished with 18 points.
Los Angeles led 49-45 at half-time behind Parker's 17 points, four rebounds and five assists. Loyd kept Seattle close with 15 points.
Chicago Sky 69-79 Washington Mystics
Leilani Mitchell had 20 points and a career-high 12 assists, Myisha Hines-Allen added 19 points and 10 rebounds and the Washington Mystics snapped a five-game losing streak with a 79-69 victory over the Chicago Sky.
Mitchell had eight assists in the first quarter and 11 by half-time to tie a WNBA record for a half. On Monday, Chicago point guard Courtney Vandersloot set a WNBA record with 18 assists, and she finished with 11 against the Mystics.
Emma Meesseman scored 15 points and Ariel Atkins had 13 for Washington (5-12), which had lost 12 of its last 13 games. Mitchell made four of the Mystics' 10 3-pointers.
Cheyenne Parker scored 17 points and Vandersloot had 16 points for Chicago (11-8), which clinched a playoff spot on Tuesday when Indiana lost. Allie Quigley was just 4 of 14 from the field for 12 points.
Minnesota Lynx 88-75 Dallas Wings
Damiris Dantas had 18 points and 13 rebounds, Napheesa Collier added 14 points and 14 rebounds and the Minnesota Lynx beat the Dallas Wings 88-75.
Minnesota trailed 49-41 at half-time but pulled away in the third quarter by going on a 22-5 run - with nine points from Bridget Carleton. The Wings only made one field goal through the first six-plus minutes of the third quarter, and finished with 26 second-half points.
Odyssey Sims scored 16 points and rookie Crystal Dangerfield added 15 for Minnesota (13-5). Carleton and Rachel Banham each had 11 points.
Allisha Gray led Dallas (6-12) with a career-high 26 points. Arike Ogunbowale was just 4 of 15 from the field for 14 points, snapping a string of 28 straight games with at least 15 points. Ogunbowale reached the 1,000-point mark in her 51st game.