DeWanna Bonner leads Sun over Fever
Bonner pours in 26 points in the win, Toronto's Natalie Achonwa scores 8 in defeat
DeWanna Bonner scored 26 points and Alyssa Thomas and Brionna Jones added 20 each to lead the Connecticut Sun to a 96-77 victory over the Indiana Fever on Saturday.
The three combined to shoot 25 of 42 for nearly 60% and the Sun (9-10) strengthened their hold on the seventh of eight WNBA playoff berths with three games remaining.
Alyssa Thomas and Jasmine Thomas, who had seven assists, were back in the starting lineup after missing a 93-78 loss to Las Vegas on Thursday because of injuries.
The Sun closed the third quarter with a 17-8 run — with seven points from Bonner and six from Jones — to take a 76-58 lead.
Indiana (5-14) has lost seven straight.
Kelsey Mitchell led the Fever with 16 points, Teaira McCowan added 15 and Tiffany Mitchell 12, while Natalie Achonwa of Toronto scored 8 points. Indiana had 19 turnovers.
Diggins-Smith scores season-high 30 points against Liberty
Skylar Diggins-Smith scored a season-high 30 points and the Phoenix Mercury beat the New York Liberty 83-67 on Saturday night for their sixth straight victory.
The Liberty (2-16) were eliminated from playoff contention, the first team to drop out.
.<a href="https://twitter.com/SkyDigg4?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SkyDigg4</a> is DIFFERENT 🗣️ <a href="https://t.co/hfGspHx0x1">pic.twitter.com/hfGspHx0x1</a>
—@PhoenixMercuryDiggins-Smith was 11 of 19 from the field and grabbed seven rebounds. Shatori Walker-Kimbrough added 15 points, Kia Vaughn 12 and Sophie Cunningham 10. The Mercury were 10 of 30 from 3-point range. The Liberty shot 27% overall, going 4 of 35 on 3s.
The Mercury (12-7) led by seven at halftime and built an 18-point lead late in the third quarter, with Diggins-Smith and Cunningham each scoring eight points in the period. The Liberty got within eight in the fourth before an 11-1 run — capped by Vaughn's jumper — put the game away.
Joyner Holmes had 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Liberty, Layshia Clarendon added 12 points, and Jazmine Jones 10. Hamilton, Ont., native Kia Nurse contributed 11 points, five rebounds and an assist. New York has lost four straight.
A'ja Wilson powers Aces past Dream
A'ja Wilson scored 13 of her 21 points in the second half and Jackie Young sparked a fourth-quarter run to help the Las Vegas Aces beat the Atlanta Dream 89-79 on Saturday night.
Wilson shot only 6 of 14 from the floor, but made 9 of 11 free throws. Young scored nine points, including six straight, during a 13-2 run that extended the Aces' lead to 81-67 with 4:39 left. The Dream didn't get closer than eight thereafter.
Another day, another big performance from <a href="https://twitter.com/_ajawilson22?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@_ajawilson22</a> 💯 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WNBA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WNBA</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BradentonArea?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BradentonArea</a> <a href="https://t.co/1l5I0VrkhC">pic.twitter.com/1l5I0VrkhC</a>
—@WNBAYoung finished with 18 points. Angel McCoughtry and Kaylah McBride also had 18, and Dearica Hamby added 11 points and nine rebounds.
Las Vegas led by a point at halftime and four after three quarters.
The Aces (14-4) are a game back of first-place Seattle and one ahead of Minnesota and Los Angeles with four games remaining. The top two teams receive a double-bye into the playoff semifinals.
Betnijah Laney scored 21 points for Atlanta (5-14). Chennedy Carter added 19, Courtney Williams 18 and Elizabeth Williams 10.
