Seattle beats Washington 74-71 in WNBA Finals rematch

Published Jun. 15, 2019 1:10 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jewell Loyd scored 14 points, including the go-ahead jumper with 8.6 seconds left, and the defending champion Seattle Storm overcame a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Washington Mystics 74-71 on Friday night in a rematch of last season's WNBA Finals.

Loyd made a fast-break layup and Natasha Howard hit a running floater in the lane to make it 71-all it with 49.3 seconds remaining. On the ensuing Mystics possession, Loyd tipped a cross-court pass that, after video review, was ruled to have deflected off Washington's LaToya Sanders before going out of bounds. Alysha Clark's errant inbound pass was nearly stolen but Loyd controlled the loose ball and called a timeout, setting up her 17-footer that give the Storm (5-3) a 73-71 lead, their first since early in the second quarter, with 8.6 seconds left.

The Mystics (4-3) called a timeout, advancing the ball to midcourt, and Elena Delle Donne, double-teamed on the inbound pass, tipped it to Aerial Powers, who missed a potential tying runner in the lane. Delle Donne led Washington with 19 points.

Howard had 19 points and 11 rebounds for Seattle. Mercedes Russell added 15 points and 11 rebounds — both career highs.

SUN 85, LYNX 81

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jonquel Jones had 16 points and 12 rebounds, Shekinna Stricklen and Alyssa Thomas also scored 16 points apiece and Connecticut beat Minnesota for its fifth consecutive victory.

Jones had her fifth double-double of the season, and Stricklen was 6 of 9 from the field, going 4 of 5 from 3-point range. Rachel Banham added 10 points for the Sun (7-1).

Odyssey Sims, who was acquired via trade from the Los Angeles Sparks in April, scored a season-high 25 points for Minnesota (4-4). The Lynx have lost three in a row and four of their last five.

SPARKS 85, MERCURY 68

PHOENIX (AP) — Chelsea Gray had 21 points and a season-high nine assists to help Los Angeles beat Phoenix.

Nneka Ogwumike scored 12 of her 16 points in the second half, and Chiney Ogwumike added 14 points for the Sparks (4-2). Brittney Griner had a dunk for Phoenix (2-4) and finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds.

ACES 100, LIBERTY 65

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Kelsey Plum scored a season-high 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting and Las Vegas never trailed against New York.

Kayla McBride had 18 points, Liz Cambage scored 17 and A'ja Wilson 14 for the Aces. All 10 players who saw action for Las Vegas (3-3) scored at least three points.

Kia Nurse, the only New York (2-5) player to score in double figures, finished with 12 points on 3-of-13 shooting.