INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Caitlin Clark had 20 points, six assists and four 3-pointers and the Indiana Fever beat the Connecticut Sun 88-71 on Tuesday night in a physical game that included three late ejections.
With 46.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Connecticut guard Jacy Sheldon made a steal and raced the other way before being wrapped up by Sophie Cunningham under the basket for a hard foul. Sheldon got up quicky and got into a shoving match with Cunningham, leading to Cunningham, Sheldon and Lindsay Allen all getting ejected.
Sheldon was also the center of another official review in the third quarter after she poked Clark in the eye and then Marina Mabrey came in late to shove Clark to the floor. Three technical fouls were called, leading to Clark’s three free throws for a 58-45 lead.
The Indiana win, combined with an Atlanta loss to New York, secured the Fever’s spot in the Commissioner’s Cup with a 4-1 record. The Fever held the tiebreaker with the Liberty after a 102-88 win on Saturday.
LIBERTY 86, DREAM 81
NEW YORK (AP) — Sabrina Ionescu had her second consecutive 34-point game, and New York rallied from a 17-point deficit in the second half to edge Atlanta.
The Liberty trailed 62-47 midway through the third quarter before taking over behind Ionescu’s 15 points and Breanna Stewart’s 11.
Stewart finished with 23 points.
The game marked the end of the Commissioner’s Cup games. Both teams entered with 3-1 records, tied with Indiana. Atlanta would have advanced to the final with a win but Indiana, which beat Connecticut 88-71, had the tiebreaker over the Liberty thanks to the Fever handing New York its first loss of the season on Saturday.
Jonquel Jones had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Liberty (10-1).
Rookie Te-Hina Paopao led the Dream (8-4) with 16 points, all in the first half. Allisha Gray added 14 points and Brionna Jones and Rhyne Howard both had 13.
MYSTICS 79, SKY 72
CHICAGO (AP) — Brittney Sykes scored 32 points on 13-of-24 shooting and Washington overcame a 12-point halftime deficit to beat Chicago.
The Mystics trailed 44-32 at halftime before doubling up Chicago in the third quarter, 24-12, to tie it at 56-all entering the fourth.
Sykes converted a three-point play with 2:17 left for a 74-70 lead.
Sykes also grabbed a key offensive rebound with 37 seconds left, with Washington ahead 75-72. She brought it out past the 3-point arc to reset and then dribbled into the lane for a jumper that came up short, but Kiki Iriafen grabbed the offensive rebound and scored for a five-point lead.
Washington forward Shakira Austin blocked Kamilla Cardoso’s shot at the other end and Sonia Citron grabbed the defensive rebound and made two free throws to seal it.
Citron finished with 13 points and nine rebounds for Washington (5-7).
WINGS 80, VALKYRIES 71
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Paige Bueckers scored 20 points, Arike Ogunbowale added 19 points, six assists and three steals, and Dallas won their first home game of the season, over Golden State.
Dallas (2-11) snapped a seven-game losing streak with its first victory since beating Connecticut 109-87 on May 27.
Bueckers sank a jumper from the free-throw line with 4:06 left in the fourth quarter and Ogunbowale nailed a long 3-pointer on their next possession for a 75-70 lead.
Ogunbowale also tipped away a pass and raced the other way for a fast-break layup to cap the scoring with 14.8 seconds left.
Kaila Charles added 10 points and three steals for Dallas.
LYNX 76, ACES 62
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Courtney Williams scored 18 of her 20 points in the second half to rally Minnesota to a spot in the Commissioner’s Cup final with a win over Las Vegas espite losing Napheesa Collier to a bad back early in the third quarter.
The Lynx, who won the Commissioner’s Cup, last year, will be home against the Indiana Fever on July 1 in a game that does not count in the standings but gives players a financial bonus.
Despite being without MVP A’ja Wilson for the third-straight game the Aces led by as many as 14 points and were up 39-30 at halftime. It was the lowest scoring half of the season for Minnesota.
Collier, runner-up in the MVP voting last year, scored her seventh point early in the second half but left at the 7:57 mark and didn’t return. Alanna Smith helped pick up the slack with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Reserves Diamond Miller and Natisha Hiedeman gave the Lynx (11-1) a big boost with 12 points each. Williams had five assists, four rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
STORM 98, SPARKS 67
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nneka Ogwumike scored a season-high 26 points on 12-of-16 shooting and Gabby Williams set a club record for steals as Seattle coasted past injury-plagued Los Angeles.
Skylar Diggins and Eric Wheeler added 15 points each and reserve Alysha Clark hit 4 of 5 3-point attempts for 14 points for the Storm (7-5). Williams, who had 11 points, eight steals and seven assists, limped off the court with an ankle sprain with eight minutes remaining.
Diggins moved into the league’s top 10 in career assists (1,585) and Ogwumike moved past Tina Thompson into fourth in career field goals (2,639).
Rickea Jackson scored 17 points and Azurá Stevens added 16 with 10 rebounds for the Sparks (4-9). Rookie Sarah Ashlee Barker hit four 3s for a season-high 12 points.
The Associated Press
