Los Angeles — Seattle Storm defeated Las Vegas Aces 76-73 on Sunday to grab a 1-0 lead in the WNBA semifinals thanks to 26 points from Jewell Loyd, including Seattle's final six points.
With 34 seconds left in the first game of the best-of-five series, Loyd converted a jumper for a three-point lead and a game-winning free throw with 1:16 still to play. The Storm held on to win. Ten of Seattle's 16 points in the fourth quarter came from her.
Breanna Stewart, the Associated Press MVP, led the fourth-seeded Storm with 24 points and six rebounds, and Tina Charles chipped in with 13 and 18 rebounds. Sue Bird had twelve aids.
The 21 points led the top-seeded Aces from Chelsea Gray. Kelsey Plum added 20, but she missed a last-second 3-point try to tie the game. Aces standout A'ja Wilson was restricted to eight points on 3-of-10 shooting, while Jackie Young finished with 11 points.
CHICAGO — In Game 1 of their WNBA semifinal series on Sunday night, DeWanna Bonner had 15 points and nine rebounds to lead the Connecticut Sun to a 68-63 victory against the Chicago Sky.
The Sun was led by Jonquel Jones' 12 points and nine rebounds, Alyssa Thomas' 12 points, ten rebounds, seven assists, and Brionna Jones' 12 points. Brionna Jones shot 6 for eight while Jonquel Jones went 5 for eight from the field.
For the Sky, Kahleah Copper scored 13 points on 5-for-10 shooting, and Candace Parker had 19 points and 18 rebounds.
The Sky missed their final four attempts after Emma Meeseman's 3-pointer with 2:12 left gave Chicago a 63-62 lead and sent the Wintrust Arena crowd into a frenzy.
Later, Jonquel Jones scored inside 27 seconds to give the Sun the lead. With 1:31 remaining, Bonner scored two free throws to increase the lead, Connecticut grabbed two offensive rebounds to stall the clock, and Bonner converted a layup with 3.8 seconds left to clinch the victory.
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