LAS VEGAS — Jewell Loyd scored 26 points, including Seattle’s final six, and the Storm edged the Las Vegas Aces 76-73 on Sunday to take a 1-0 lead in the WNBA semifinals.
Loyd made a go-ahead free throw with 1:16 to play, then a jumper for a three-point lead with 34 seconds remaining before the Storm held on in the opener of the best-of-five series. She had 10 of Seattle’s 16 points in the fourth quarter.
ANOTHER ONE FOR GOLD MAMBA 🐍 @jewellloyd
— WNBA (@WNBA) August 28, 2022
📺 @espn pic.twitter.com/QiKGqSwXGq
Associated Press MVP Breanna Stewart had 24 points and six rebounds for the fourth-seeded Storm, while Tina Charles added 13 points and 18 rebounds. Sue Bird had 12 assists.
Chelsea Gray scored 21 points for the top-seeded Aces. Kelsey Plum added 20, but missed a tying 3-point attempt with 2.9 seconds to play. Jackie Young finished with 11 points but Aces star A’ja Wilson was held to just eight on 3-of-10 shooting.
SUN 68, SKY 63
CHICAGO — DeWanna Bonner had 15 points and nine rebounds to lead the Connecticut Sun to a 68-63 win over the Chicago Sky in Game 1 of their WNBA semifinals series on Sunday night.
Jonquel Jones scored 12 points and also grabbed nine rebounds for the Sun, Alyssa Thomas had 12 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, and Brionna Jones added 12 points. Jonquel Jones was 5 for 8 from the field and Brionna Jones shot 6 for 8.
Candace Parker had 19 points and 18 rebounds for the Sky, and Kahleah Copper scored 13 points on 5-for-10 shooting.
A historic outing for @Candace_Parker ‼️
— WNBA (@WNBA) August 29, 2022
Tonight she became the first player in WNBA history to drop 15+ PTS, 15+ REB, 5+ AST AND 5+ BLK's in a #WNBAPlayoffs game 🤯#MoreThan pic.twitter.com/tQmEKr17s0
After Emma Meeseman’s 3-pointer with 2:12 remaining gave Chicago a 63-62 lead and whipped the Wintrust Arena crowd into a frenzy, the Sky missed their last four shots.
Jonquel Jones scored inside 27 seconds later to put the Sun back ahead. Bonner made two free throws with 1:31 left to extend the lead, and Connecticut got two offensive rebounds to kill some time off the clock, and Bonner made a layup with 3.8 seconds left to seal the win.
