Saturday night wins for the Mercury, Aces and Sun
Sunday 6 September 2020 07:57, UK
Skylar Diggins-Smith put up season-best figures to lead the Phoenix Mercury to their sixth straight win with victory over the New York Liberty.
Diggins-Smith scored a season-high 30 points as the Mercury eliminated the Liberty from playoff contention with a 83-67 win on Saturday night.
The Phoenix guard was 11 of 19 from the field and grabbed seven rebounds, while Shatori Walker-Kimbrough added 15 points, Kia Vaughn 12 and Sophie Cunningham 10. The Mercury were 10 of 30 from three-point range.
The Liberty shot 27 percent overall, going four of 35 on threes.
Phoenix led by seven at halftime and built an 18-point lead late in the third quarter, with Diggins-Smith and Cunningham each scoring eight points in the period. The Liberty got within eight in the fourth before an 11-1 run - capped by Vaughn's jumper - put the game away.
Joyner Holmes had 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Liberty, Layshia Clarendon added 12 points, Kia Nurse 11 and Jazmine Jones 10. They have now lost four straight.
A'ja Wilson scored 13 of her 21 points in the second half and Jackie Young sparked a fourth-quarter run to help the Las Vegas Aces beat the Atlanta Dream 89-79.
Wilson shot only six of 14 from the floor, but made nine of 11 free throws. Young scored nine points, including six straight, during a 13-2 run that extended the Aces' lead to 81-67 with 4:39 left. The Dream didn't get closer than eight thereafter.
Young finished with 18 points. Angel McCoughtry and Kayla McBride also had 18, and Dearica Hamby added 11 points and nine rebounds.
Las Vegas led by a point at halftime and four after three quarters.
The Aces are a game back of first-place Seattle and one ahead of Minnesota and Los Angeles with four games remaining. The top two teams receive a double-bye into the playoff semifinals.
DeWanna Bonner scored 26 points and Alyssa Thomas and Brionna Jones added 20 each to lead the Connecticut Sun to a 96-77 win over the Indiana Fever.
The three combined to shoot 25 of 42 for nearly 60 percent and the Sun strengthened their hold on the seventh of eight WNBA playoff berths with three games remaining.
Alyssa Thomas and Jasmine Thomas, who had seven assists, were back in the starting lineup after missing a 93-78 loss to Las Vegas on Thursday because of injuries.
The Sun closed the third quarter with a 17-8 run - with seven points from Bonner and six from Jones - to take a 76-58 lead.
Kelsey Mitchell led the Fever with 16 points, Teaira McCowan added 15 and Tiffany Mitchell 12. Indiana, who have now lost seven straight, had 19 turnovers in the game.
