COLLEGE PARK, Ga. (AP) — Napheesa Collier scored 26 points and the Minnesota Lynx successfully challenged two foul calls in the last minute of overtime to beat Atlanta 96-92 on Friday night in a game that saw the Dream rally after a weather-related delay in the second quarter.
The Lynx were up 92-90 when challenges reversed foul calls on Atlanta drives with 54.8 and 20.5 seconds to go. Kayla McBride then made four free throws in the last 17.5 seconds to secure the win.
McBride scored 18 points for the Lynx to surpass 5,000 for her career. Courtney Williams added 16 points and Bridget Carleton 14. Minnesota made 13 3-pointers and 17 of 18 free throws.
Brionna Jones had 18 points, Allisha Gray scored 17 and Brittney Griner 16 for the balanced Dream. Rhyne Howard added 15 points, Jordan Canada had 14 and reserve Naz Hillmon 10. Atlanta had a season-high 52 points in the paint to 24 for Minnesota.
FEVER 94, WINGS 86
DALLAS (AP) — Kelsey Mitchell scored 32 points, and Indiana held on without the , taking a 22-point lead in the first quarter before finishing off a victory over Dallas.
Clark’s left groin injury spoiled what was supposed to be the first meeting of the past two No. 1 picks in the WNBA draft. The game was the first at the home of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks for the Wings, who took Paige Bueckers first overall this year.
The Wings, who are planning a move to downtown Dallas in the next couple of years, have played about 20 miles away on the campus of the University of Texas at Arlington since moving to the area nine years ago.
Bueckers sparked a rally by beating the first-half buzzer with a long 3-pointer after a steal and finished with 27 points despite a cold start from the field.
The Wings took a lead in the fourth quarter after trailing by 23 in the first half, but couldn’t overcome 26% shooting in the first 10 minutes. Arike Ogunbowale scored 15 for Dallas.
Aliyah Boston scored 21 points and Natasha Howard had 15 points and 13 rebounds and three steals for the Fever, who made all 11 of their shots from inside the 3-point arc in the first quarter and shot 59% for the game.
STORM 97, SUN 81
SEATTLE (AP) — Skylar Diggins scored 24 points, Gabby Williams had 16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists and Seattle beat Connecticut for its eighth straight loss.
Diggins, Williams and Ezi Magbegor combined to score 35 points in the first half as the Storm led 52-38. Dominique Malonga ran past the defense for a long pass from Diggins and converted a fast-break layup with 1.2 seconds left to cap the first-half scoring.
Seattle opened the second half on a 18-5 run, capped by Nneka Ogwumike’s 3-pointer, to build a 27-point lead at 70-43. The Storm outscored the Sun 30-17 in the frame to make it 82-55.
Ogwumike finished with 16 points and Magbegor scored 12 for Seattle. Malonga scored a career-high 11 points off the bench. Diggins, who entered with 5,102 career points, passed Swin Cash (5,119) for 24th on the WNBA’s all-time list.
MERCURY 106, LIBERTY 91
PHOENIX (AP) — Satou Sabally scored 25 points and Phoenix set a team record for 3-pointers in the second straight game — and broke a WNBA record in the process — in a victory over New York.
Alyssa Thomas, who had 17 points, matched the Phoenix record of 15 assists for the second time and finished a rebound short of her 12th regular-season triple-double. The Mercury had a franchise record 30 assists on 41 baskets.
The Mercury (12-6) finished 18 of 39 behind the arc a game after hitting 17 3s in a win over Chicago. The 35 3s in consecutive games is a WNBA record. The league record for 3s in the regular season is 19, which the Liberty hit twice this season.
Sabally went 7 of 10 from distance and Sami Whitcomb was 5 of 7 for 15 points. Kitija Laksa added 13 points and Kahleah Copper 12 as Phoenix won its sixth straight.
Breanna Stewart scored 17 points, Nyara Sabally, in her first start against her sister, had a career-high 16 points and Natasha Cloud added 15 for the Liberty (11-4), who have lost four of five games, starting with an 89-81 home loss to the Mercury eight days ago.
VALKYRIES 83, SKY 78
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Kayla Thornton scored a career-high 29 points to help Golden State beat Chicago.
Thornton made her fourth 3-pointer with two minutes remaining to give Golden State (7-8) a 78-70 lead. But Chicago (4-11) scored the next four points, the last when Angel Reese grabbed an offensive rebound and scored with 1:11 left.
Thornton was fouled with a second left on the shot clock and she made 1 of 2 free throws for a 79-74 lead. Reese scored again after another offensive rebound, but Tiffany Hayes sealed it with two free throws.
Hayes finished with 13 points, Kate Martin had 11 and Kaitlyn Chen 10 for Golden State.
Ariel Atkins scored 20 points and Reese had 17 points and 18 rebounds for Chicago. Reese has had 15-plus rebounds in three straight games.
The Associated Press
