WASHINGTON (AP) — Elena Delle Donne scored 25 points, making WNBA history along the way, and the regular-season champion Washington Mystics raced past the Chicago Sky 100-86 on Sunday.
She became the first player in WNBA history to shoot over 50% from the field (220 of 427), 40% from 3-point range (52 of 121) and 90% from the foul line (114 of 117). Her free throw percent of 97.4 is a record for a player with at least 100 attempts.
The Mystics (26-8), who lost to Seattle in the finals last year), have a double-bye into the semifinals and home court advantage throughout the playoffs. The Sky (20-14) are the No. 5 seed and play No. 8 Phoenix at home on Wednesday in the single-elimination opening round of the playoffs.
Chicago's Courtney Vandersloot had six assists to become the first player in league history to reach 300 in a season, which she did exactly, and the first player to average at least nine assists a game for a season (9.1).
ACES 98, MERCURY 89
PHOENIX (AP) — Liz Cambage had 21 points and A'ja Wilson scored eight of her 20 points in the final three-plus minutes to help the Aces beat the Mercury, clinching the No. 4 seed in the playoffs for Las Vegas.
The Aces, who missed the playoffs each of the last four years earned a bye in Wednesday's first round and will host a second-round game on Sept. 15.
Wilson hit a jumper to tie the game at 89 and spark an 11-0 closing run by Las Vegas (21-13) as the Mercury went 0 for 5 from the field and committed three turnovers over the final three minutes.
Brittney Griner led Phoenix (15-19) with 24 points.
STORM 78, WINGS 64
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Natasha Howard and Jewell Loyd combined to score 30 of their 38 points in the first half and the Storm beat the Wings, helping Seattle clinch the No. 6 seed in the playoffs.
The Storm, the defending champions, will host No. 7 seed Minnesota in a single-elimination first-round game on Wednesday. The Lynx lost at Los Angeles and the Storm have the tiebreaker between the two teams.
Seattle has won three in a row overall, and four straight at home, against the Lynx.
Arike Ogunbowale led the Wings (10-24) with 25 points to finish the season with 630, the third-highest rookie scoring total in WNBA history.
SPARKS 77, LYNX 68
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Riquna Williams hit four 3-pointers and finished with 15 points to help the Sparks beat Minnesota, ruining the Lynx's chance of hosting a playoff game in the first round.
The Sparks (22-12) have a first-round bye in the playoffs, which begin on Wednesday and will host the worst remaining seed in the second round.
The Lynx (18-16), who had a five-game win streak snapped, will be the No. 7 seed because of their loss and Seattle's win over Dallas. Minnesota has lost three in a row against the Storm overall and four straight in Seattle.
Napheesa Collier led Minnesota with 16 points and career-high tying 11 rebounds.
FEVER 104, SUN 76
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Kelsey Mitchell hit a WNBA regular season record nine 3-pointers, scoring 38 points to help the Fever beat the Sun.
The second-year guard had 30 points in the first half and broke the mark of eight held by five different players. She equaled the nine 3s that Kristi Toliver hit in the 2017 playoffs.
The Fever (13-21) finished the season on a high-note winning their last three games. They have the second best chance to get the No. 1 pick in the draft lottery.
The Sun (23-11), locked into the No. 2 seed and a double-bye in the playoffs, played their starters less than half the game.
Rookie Teaira McCowan added 17 points and nine rebounds. She finished with 304 rebounds on the season, breaking Erlana Larkins' 2014 franchise record by one.
LIBERTY 71 DREAM 63
ATLANTA (AP) — Tina Charles scored 14 points, Amanda Zahui B. added a double-double and the Liberty topped the Dream.
The Liberty (10-24) had an 18-11 advantage in the third quarter to stretch a 44-38 halftime lead to 63-49 and was never seriously challenged by the Dream (8-26).
Atlanta gave a ceremonial start to injured forward Angel McCoughtry, who has been sidelined for the season while recovering from a knee injury she suffered last year. They took her out right after the tip.
