​NEW YORK (AP) — Breanna Stewart poured in 36 points as the Liberty defeated Minnesota 99-86 on Friday night, foiling Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve’s bid to become the WNBA’s career wins leader. Reeve is currently tied with Mike Thibault at 379 regular-season victories; her next chance to add to the total comes Monday when Minnesota hosts Chicago.
New York, 13-8 and fresh off Tuesday’s Commissioner’s Cup triumph, seized control early and didn’t let history unfold on Friday. Stewart sparked the start, while Jonquel Jones and Sabrina Ionescu took over as the game progressed. Jones finished with 14 points and 15 rebounds, and Ionescu added 17 points.
Minnesota, 15-5, led 47-46 with 3:32 left in the half before the Liberty closed the second quarter on a 13-2 run. Jones began the burst with a three-point play, and Pauline Astier capped it with a running layup just before the half ended, leaving New York ahead 59-49. Stewart scored 16 of her 18 points in the first half, all coming in the opening quarter.
The Liberty sealed the win with an early 7-3 run to start the fourth, highlighted by Jones’s 3-pointer that made it 85-68. The Lynx got no closer than 12 the rest of the way. Kayla McBride led Minnesota with 18 points and Courtney Williams added 16.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Aces 98, Sky 90, OT
NaLyssa Smith registered 29 points and eight boards, and Chelsea Gray delivered two crucial jumpers in the final minute of overtime as Las Vegas defeated Chicago. The short-handed Aces (15-5) were without A’ja Wilson (right leg) for the second straight game but still rallied to win, celebrating their 500th franchise victory.
Las Vegas scored 10 straight points in overtime to pull away. A successful challenge with 1:08 left in OT overturned a Chicago basket that would have pulled the Sky within two. Gray followed with a step-back jumper from beyond the free-throw line to push the lead to 94-88 with 48 seconds remaining, then added another jumper from a similar spot with 17.1 seconds left to make it 96-88. Gray finished with 18 points and six assists, while Jewell Loyd had 19 and Jackie Young 16. Smith shot 11-for-14 from the field and made 7 of 10 free throws.
Skylar Diggins-Smith led Chicago (6-14) with 19 points, Kamilla Cardoso had 16 points and 10 rebounds, Natasha Cloud scored 15, and Courtney Vandersloot and Azura Stevens each had 11.