Sky rally from WNBA-record 28 down to beat Aces
LAS VEGAS — Courtney Vandersloot scored 25 points and the Chicago Sky completed the biggest comeback in WNBA history, rallying from 28-down to beat the Las Vegas Aces 104-95 on Tuesday night.
The previous record was a 25-point rally most recently done in 2013 by the Sky.
Las Vegas shot 63% from the field in the first quarter, and scored 41 points to set a franchise record for points in a quarter. But Chicago outscored Las Vegas 59-25, after falling behind by 28 points, to enter the fourth quarter with a lead.
The Sky (11-5) went on an 18-0 run in the third quarter to take its first lead, 67-66, since it was 4-2.
The win means the two teams split their head-to-head meetings so homecourt for the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup championship game will come down to the second tiebreaker. That’s point differential in the cup games and the Aces have a huge lead over the Sky with two games left to play.
Jackie Young scored 23 points and Kelsey Plum had 22 points and eight assists for Las Vegas (13-3).
DREAM 80, WINGS 75
ATLANTA — Maya Caldwell scored 18 points, Rhyne Howard added 16 points and eight rebounds, and the Atlanta Dream beat the Wings to snap a four-game losing streak.
Atlanta (8-8) equaled its win total from last season with the win.
Aari McDonald drove into the lane and sank a floater to give Atlanta a 77-72 lead. Marina Mabrey made a long 3-ponter with 29.8 seconds left to pull Dallas within 79-75 but she missed one on their next possession after Howard made one free throw.
McDonald finished with 15 points and Cheyenne Parker had 14 for Atlanta.
Allisha Gray led Dallas (8-9) with 18 points.
LYNX 84, MERCURY 71
PHOENIX — Kayla McBride scored 18 points, Moriah Jefferson had 12 points and nine assists and the Lynx beat the Mercury to snap a five-game losing streak.
Minnesota, which won in Phoenix for the 10th straight time, went on a 20-8 run, capped by a corner 3-pointer by Bridget Carleton, to take a 70-61 lead.
Natalie Achonwa also scored 12 points, 10 coming in the first half, for Minnesota (4-13). Jessica Shepard grabbed 13 rebounds.
Skylar Diggins-Smith scored 25 points for Phoenix (7-10). Diana Taurasi added 15 points and Shey Peddy had 12.
SPARKS 84, MYSTICS 82
LOS ANGELES — Nneka Ogwumike scored 21 points, Katie Lou Samuelson added 13 points and the Sparks beat the Mystics for interim coach Fred Williams’ first victory.
Los Angeles (6-9) led 77-61 before Washington started a comeback. Natasha Cloud made back-to-back 3-pointers and she found Ariel Atkins in the corner for a four-point play. During the timeout between Atkins’ 3-pointer and free throw, the officials reviewed a Liz Cambage basket and ruled it came after the buzzer to reduce Los Angeles’ lead to 77-71.
Ogwumike was fouled before making two free throws with 10.2 seconds left to give Los Angeles a three-point lead. After a timeout, Cloud was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 2.5 left but missed the second of three free throws and intentionally missed the third before Los Angeles secured the rebound.
Atkins scored 22 points and Myisha Hines-Allen had 17 points and eight rebounds for Washington (11-8).
