PHOENIX (AP) — A’ja Wilson scored 30 points, Chelsea Gray had 14 points and 12 assists and the first-place Las Vegas Aces coasted to a 94-73 win over the last-place Phoenix Mercury on Friday night.
Sug Sutton had the first triple-double in Mercury history, with 18 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. Sutton is the first player drafted after the first round to record a triple-double. The third-round pick, 36th overall, by the Mystics in 2020 played 12 games that season.
Kelsey Plum added 18 points and Jackie Young 17 points for the Aces, who shot 54%. Las Vegas set a WNBA record with its 14th win of at least 20 points, surpassing Connecticut’s 13 20-point wins in 2019.
Megan Gustafson scored 14 points, Moriah Jefferson had 11 points and Brittney Griner, on her bobblehead night, had 10 points for the Mercury.
SUN 76, FEVER 59
UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Tiffany Hayes scored 14 points, Alyssa Thomas had 10 points and 14 rebounds and Connecticut beat Indiana for their franchise record 27th victory of the season.
DeWanna Bonner, Natisha Hiedeman and DiJonai Carrington scored 10 points apiece for the Sun (27-12), who have now beaten the Fever eight consecutive times. Indiana (12-27) hasn’t beaten Connecticut since July 3, 2021. Bonner had eight rebounds and five assists, while Thomas added eight assists to go along with her 28th double-double of the season.
Kelsey Mitchell scored 15 points and Erica Wheeler and NaLyssa Smith each added 14 points for Indiana.
WINGS 106, STORM 91
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Natasha Howard scored 23 points, Satou Sabally added 21 points and Dallas secured the No. 4 seed in the playoffs with a victory over Seattle.
Seattle (11-28) has been eliminated from the playoffs but that didn’t stop Jewell Loyd, who passed Breanna Stewart for the most points in a single season in league history with 911. Loyd was 10 of 30 from the field, including 5 of 13 from 3-point range to finish with 33 points.
Arike Ogunbowale had 19 points and a career-high 10 assists for Dallas (21-18). Teaira McCowan added 16 points and nine rebounds.
DREAM 80, MYSTICS 75
WASHINGTON (AP) — Rhyne Howard had 21 points and 12 rebounds, Allisha Gray and Danielle Robinson made clutch free throws in the closing seconds and Atlanta defeated Washington.
The game helped determine playoff seeding. The loss locked Washington (18-21) into the seventh seed while Atlanta (19-20) still has a chance to move up.
Gray and Cheyenne Parker both scored 17 for the Dream.
Brittney Sykes had a career-high 27 points for the Mystics. Elena Delle Donne had 13 and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough had 11. Natasha Cloud had a career-high and franchise record 15 assists.
Atlanta led by as many as 13 in the fourth quarter but Washington pulled within 76-75 with 20.3 to go before Gray and Robinson made their free throws.
SKY 92, LYNX 87
CHICAGO (AP) — Kahleah Copper scored 20 points, Marina Mabrey added 19 and Chicago clinched the last playoff spot with a win over Minnesota
Chicago’s win eliminated the Los Angeles Sparks for the eighth seed and Minnesota dropped into a tie for the fifth-seed with Atlanta with one game remaining.
Dana Evans had seven quick points in the second quarter to spark Chicago, which turned a 19-16 deficit after one quarter into a 44-39 halftime lead.
Napheesa Collier had a three-point play that pulled the Lynx within 64-62 late in the third quarter but they never got closer. Collier had 28 points and rookie Diamond Miller added 24 for Minnesota.
Courtney Williams had 13 points and 11 assists for the Sky.