Dearica Hamby's 24 points, 14 rebounds lead Sparks over Mystics for 3rd straight win
Los Angeles (9-14) has won three straight games, including back-to-back victories over Washington (11-12), before and after the All-Star break.
Los Angeles led 81-78 before scoring nine straight points, capped by Hamby's baseline jumper with 1:54 left in the fourth quarter for a 12-point lead. Kelsey Plum sealed it on a long 3-pointer with 49.1 left.
Plum finished with 11 points and three 3-pointers for Los Angeles. Jackson made four of the Sparks' 13 3s.
Brittney Sykes led Washington with 18 points and Shakira Austin added 17. Kiki Iriafen scored 13. Sonia Citron, Washington's second-leading scorer at 14.1 points per game, finished with seven points, five assists and three steals. Citron did not attempt her first field goal until midway through the third quarter.
LYNX 91, SKY 68
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kayla McBride and Napheesa Collier scored 19 points apiece and Minnesota dominated the middle quarters in a win over Chicago, improving to 13-0 in home games.
Down 24-18 after one quarter, the Lynx outscored the Sky 29-14 in the second for a 47-38 lead at halftime. A 23-12 scoring edge in the third quarter made it 70-50 entering the fourth.
Bridget Carlton had 11 points for the Lynx (21-4) and Alanna Sith and Courtney Williams each had 10. Backup point guard Natisha Hiedeman injured an ankle in the third quarter and finished the game on the bench.
Kia Nurse, starting in place of the injured Ariel Atkins, scored 16 points to lead the Sky (7-16). Angel Reese had 11 points and 11 rebounds with nine turnovers, and Kamilla Cardoso added 10 points and 10 rebounds.
LIBERTY 98, FEVER 84
NEW YORK (AP) — Jonquel Jones scored 18 points in her return from an ankle injury, and New York beat Indiana.
Breanna Stewart and Leonie Fiebich each scored 17, Sabrina Ionescu had 13 points and nine assists, and Isabelle Harrison also had 13 points to help the Liberty (15-6) beat the Fever for the second straight time. New York beat Indiana 98-77 last Wednesday in their last game before the All-Star break.
Kelsey Mitchell scored 29 points to lead the Fever (12-11), which again played without Caitlin Clark (groin injury).
WINGS 87, STORM 63
SEATTLE (AP) — Arike Ogunbowale scored 20 points including four 3-pointers, Paige Bueckers had 14 points for her 19th straight double-digit game to begin her career, and the Dallas beat the short-handed Seattle.
Bueckers also had six assists to tie Caitlin Clark's WNBA record for the fastest player to reach 300 points and 100 assists.
Skylar Diggins, Seattle's leader with 17.5 points and 5.8 assists per game, did not play due to personal reasons.
ACES 87, DREAM 72
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A'ja Wilson had 24 points and 12 rebounds, Dana Evans provided a spark off the bench and Las Vegas won three straight games for the first time this season with a victory over Atlanta.
Evans scored the first nine points of the second quarter to give the Aces the lead for good and finished with 14 points. Jackie Young added 14 points for Las Vegas (12-11), which plays its next four on the road. NaLyssa Smith had 11 points.
Allisha Gray led the Dream (13-10) with 24 points and eight rebounds. Jordan Canada added 12 points. Atlanta is without All-Star and leading scorer Rhyne Howard due to a knee injury. She missed the last two games before the All-Star break and will miss at least four more.
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San Francisco Chronicle
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Associated Press
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Family celebration Briscoe's pole-winning run was the second leg of a celebratory weekend for his family, which still calls Mitchell, Indiana, home. That's about 85 miles southwest of Indy. The first part came Friday when Briscoe's sister got married. And Briscoe has a chance to complete the third leg by winning his first Brickyard title. But he's also wary about a potential sibling rivalry. 'I would love to cap it off with the Brickyard 400, but I'm sure my sister would be mad if I went and kind of topped the wedding,' Briscoe said. 'But, yeah, it's been a fun week to come up here and get to do all the things we've done.' Double duty After qualifying 38th for Sunday's race, Katherine Legge took a short break before jumping in her car for the start of the Xfinity race. The longtime IndyCar driver is doing double duty this weekend on a track she knows well. Legge has started four Indianapolis 500s, most recently in 2024. This season, she's made six starts on the stock car circuit — two in the Xfinity Series and four, so far, in the Cup Series. And on Sunday, she'll hit another milestone — becoming the 21st driver to compete in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard. Odds and ends Shane van Gisbergen will make his first career start on Indy's oval after qualifying 11th. ... Points leader Chase Elliott starts from the No. 30 spot on the grid. ... Despite the qualifying crash, Hamlin remained the betting favorite in Indianapolis with Larson and Briscoe not far behind, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. The trio has just one win on Indy's oval. ___ AP auto racing:
