WNBA round-up: Seattle Storm reel off fifth straight victory, Breanna Stewart stars with double-double

Breanna Stewart had 21 points and a season-high 15 rebounds, Sue Bird added 13 points with seven assists, and the Seattle Storm beat the Indiana Fever 79-69 on Thursday night for their fifth straight victory.

Seattle’s lead was cut to 69-66 with 6:31 left until Stewart scored six points during a 10-1 run to put the Storm ahead by double-figures the rest of the way.

Jewell Loyd added 15 points for Seattle (12-2) and Katie Lou Samuelson scored 10. The Storm improved to 7-0 on the road this season.

Thursday night’s WNBA scores

Seattle closed the first half on a 14-5 run to build a 40-36 lead at the break, and the Storm led 65-60 entering the fourth.

Teaira McCowan and Jessica Breland each recorded a double-double for Indiana (1-13), which has lost nine straight games. McCowan had 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Breland finished with 10 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. Tiffany Mitchell and Kelsey Mitchell each added 12 points.

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Atlanta Dream 93-96 Washington Mystics

Ariel Atkins scored 32 points, Theresa Plaisance added 25, and the short-handed Washington Mystics beat the Atlanta Dream 96-93 on Thursday night for coach Mike Thibault’s 350th victory

Natasha Cloud made two free throws with 24.6 seconds left to extend Washington’s lead to 92-88 and Atkins added two more on their next possession.

Odyssey Sims sank a 3-pointer from the corner with 4.4 seconds left to pull Atlanta within 94-93. But Atlanta was called for a technical foul and Washington made 2 of 3 free throws before Aari McDonald’s heave at the buzzer went off the backboard.

The Mystics were missing star Tina Charles, who was attending the premiere of her film ‘Game Changer’ at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. The film tells the story of Tanya DePass, an African-American gamer, determined to make the gaming industry more inclusive. Washington also lost Myisha Hines-Allen to a knee injury. Coach Thibault said she’ll get an MRI on Friday.

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Cloud finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists for Washington (5-6). Atkins and Plaisance each made 10 field goals, combining to shoot 20 for 31. The Mystics were without Tina Charles and Myisha Hines-Allen.

Sims scored 22 points with seven assists for Atlanta (5-7). Tianna Hawkins had 17 points and nine rebounds, and Tiffany Hayes added 16 points, six assists and five steals.

Connecticut Sun 75-81 Chicago Sky

Kahleah Copper had 18 points and eight rebounds, Courtney Vandersloot added 12 points with 10 assists and four steals, and the Chicago Sky beat the Connecticut Sun 81-75 on Thursday night for their fourth straight win.

Chicago trailed 40-31 early in the third quarter before taking the lead, 49-47, on Diamond DeShields’ 3-pointer with 2:27 remaining in the third. The Sky scored the first six points of the fourth for a double-digit lead.

Candace Parker scored 15 points with eight rebounds and three assists for Chicago (6-7). DeShields added 13 points and six rebounds, and Allie Quigley scored 11.

Jasmine Thomas led Connecticut (8-4) with 20 points. DeWanna Bonner had 10 points and 10 rebounds, Kaila Charles had 15 points and seven boards, and Natisha Hiedeman scored 13.

Connecticut was still missing Jonquel Jones, who is over playing in the EuroBasket tournament. The teams face each other again on Saturday.

Minnesota Lynx 85-73 Dallas Wings

Kayla McBride scored a season-high 22 points, Sylvia Fowles had 14 points and 12 rebounds for her 170th career double-double, and the Minnesota Lynx beat the Dallas Wings 85-73 on Thursday night.

Minnesota had a five-point lead after three quarters until Damiris Dantas opened and closed a 10-0 run to extend the advantage to 70-55. The Lynx scored 21 of the opening 29 points of the fourth to pull away.

Napheesa Collier added 19 points, eight rebounds and four assists for Minnesota (5-6), which won for the second time in four games. Canada’s Bridget Carleton had two points and two rebounds in 13 minutes.

The Lynx led 43-33 at the break behind 10 points and seven rebounds from Fowles.

Arike Ogunbowale led Dallas (5-7) with 20 points. Satou Sabally, Kayla Thornton and Allisha Gray each added 10 points for the Wings, who host Minnesota on Saturday.

New York Liberty 76-103 Las Vegas Aces

Kelsey Plum scored 18 points with seven assists, A’ja Wilson had 17 points and seven rebounds, and the Las Vegas Aces beat the New York Liberty 103-76 on Thursday night.

Liz Cambage added 13 points and nine boards, and Chelsea Gray had 15 points with six assists for Las Vegas (10-3), which routed New York for a second straight game. Riquna Williams scored 11 and Ji-Su Park had three of Las Vegas’ 10 blocked shots.

Las Vegas scored 33 points in second quarter to help build a 55-34 halftime lead. Betnijah Laney, Reshanda Gray and Michaela Onyenwere combined to score 32 of New York’s 34 first-half points and the rest of the Liberty were 1 for 19 from the field.

Laney scored 20 points for New York (6-6). Gray had 17 points and Rebecca Allen added 14. Sabrina Ionescu, who played for the first time since June 5 due to an ankle injury, had one point, four rebounds and three assists in 15 minutes of play.

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