NEW YORK (AP) — Breanna Stewart scored 19 points in her return from injury and Jonquel Jones added 18 to help the New York Liberty beat the Connecticut Sun 81-79 on Monday night.
Stewart missed the previous 13 games with a bone bruise in her right knee. She was limited to just 21 minutes, but made the most of them.
New York (23-15) trailed 59-58 heading into the final quarter before Jones hit a 3-pointer to get them going. The teams exchanged the lead over the next few minutes before the Liberty went on a 9-0 run to take a 74-66 lead with 3:47 left. Sabrina Ionescu hit four three throws to get the run started and Emma Meesseman capped it with a layup.
Connecticut (9-28) didn’t go away and got to 81-79 with 23.6 seconds left after Aaliyah Edwards hit two free throws.
Ionescu then ran the clock down before Stewart threw the ball away to Leila Lacan. She went the length of the court but Ionescu hustled back and stripped the ball from Lacan with 2.2 seconds left to seal the win.
The Sun snapped their season-best three-game winning streak. Aneesah Morrow had 18 points and 15 rebounds to lead Connecticut.
ACES 79, SKY 74
CHICAGO (AP) — Jackie Young had 22 points and seven assists, A’ja Wilson added 18 points and nine rebounds, and Las Vegas secured a WNBA playoff spot with a victory over Chicago.
Las Vegas (25-14) won its 11th straight game to become the second team to clinch a playoff spot this season.
Chelsea Gray had 14 points and seven assists, and NaLyssa Smith scored 10 points for the Aces.
Ariel Atkins led Chicago (9-28) with a season-high 30 points, and Kamilla Cardoso had 19 points and 10 rebounds. Angel Reese added 10 points and 17 rebounds for her league-leading 20th double-double this season. Reese also passed Tina Charles (45) for the most double-doubles through a player’s first two seasons in WNBA history.
Young scored Las Vegas’ final 12 points of the first half, capped by a 3-pointer with 0.2 seconds left for a 44-32 lead. She finished the half with 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range.
Reese made a fast-break layup with 2:37 left in the fourth to give Chicago a 74-73 lead, its first since it was up 7-5.
Gray sank a 3-pointer for a 76-74 lead and Wilson made a jumper from the corner of the free-throw line on their next possession for a four-point advantage.
The Associated Press
