ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Aziaha James scored 18 points off the bench, Paige Bueckers had 10 points, nine rebounds and seven assists and the Dallas Wings beat the Seattle Storm 79-56 on Monday night.
Bueckers scored all 10 of her points in the first half to help Dallas lead 36-25. She finished the game 4 of 12 from the field as the Wings shot just 36%.
Dallas began the third quarter on an 8-0 run to extend its lead to 44-25. Seattle did not make its first field goal of the second half until the 5:39 mark of the third.
Four other starters for Dallas (6-3) finished with nine points. Arike Ogunbowale was just 2 of 13 from the field and Maddy Siegrist made 3 of her 10 attempts. Jessica Shepard grabbed eight rebounds to help Dallas outrebound Seattle 48-36.
Flau’jae Johnson led Seattle (3-7) with 16 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out with 39.7 seconds left. Natisha Hiedeman added 11 points. Johnson became the second rookie guard in WNBA history to reach 15 blocks in 10 games, joining Elena Delle Donne.
LYNX 111, MERCURY 77
PHOENIX (AP) — Courtney Williams scored 30 points on 13-of-20 shooting, Olivia Miles had 19 points and nine assists, and Minnesota eased past Phoenix.
Minnesota jumped out to a 35-22 lead after the first quarter, began the second on an 11-4 run and ended the half with 67 points. It was the third-most points in any half of a road game in WNBA history.
Williams made eight of her 10 shots in the first half for 19 points to help Minnesota build a 67-40 lead after shooting 75% from the field (27 of 36). Miles had 13 points and five assists by halftime and Natasha Howard added 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
Minnesota led 88-56 after three.
Antonia Delaere scored 13 points off the bench, Anastasiia Olairi Kosu added 12 and Howard finished with 11 for Minnesota (7-2). Miles has scored in double figures in all nine games to start the season, tying the longest streak in franchise history by a rookie with Seimone Augustus and Tonya Edwards
Kahleah Copper led Phoenix (2-8) with 18 points. Noemie Brochant added 11 and Monique Akoa Makani 10. Natasha Mack had 11 rebounds.
VALKYRIES 95, FIRE 77
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Kayla Thornton made five 3-pointers and had 19 points and eight rebounds, Janelle Salaun came off the bench to contribute 18 points and Golden State jumped out to a big lead before holding off a late rally by Portland for a win in a Commissioner’s Cup game.
Thornton shot 6 for 13 and made 4 of her first 7 3s for the Valkyries, who set a franchise record with 18 3-pointers. They shot 52.2% from deep in the first half and led 56-36 at the break. Salaun went 6 for 10 from the floor with three 3s.
Veronica Burton added 10 points and nine assists playing nearly 23 minutes after she came into the game questionable with a bruised right quadriceps muscle that she injured in Sunday’s 91-81 loss to defending WNBA champion Las Vegas.
Megan Gustafson had 13 points and eight rebounds for the Fire, who had won four of five and dropped to 2-2 on the road
ACES 79, SPARKS 69
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A’ja Wilson had 25 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks, Jackie Young added 16 points and nine assists, and Las Vegas beat Los Angeles.
Chelsea Gray added 12 points and 11 assists for Las Vegas (6-3). Wilson moved into eighth on the WNBA career blocks list, passing Tammy Sutton-Brown with 555.
Rae Burrell scored a career-high 22 points and Nneka Ogwumike had 12 points and 12 rebounds for Los Angeles (4-5). Burrell was 7 of 10 from the field for 17 points through three quarters, while her teammates combined to go 8 of 38 for 34 points.
Ogwumike took sole possession of fifth on the WNBA career rebounding list, passing Tamika Catchings with 3,315.
