Sparks advance in WNBA playoffs, will face the Sun
Sparks 92, Storm 69
Chelsea Gray had 21 points and eight assists, Candace Parker added 11 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, and Los Angeles beat Seattle on Sunday to eliminate the defending-champion Storm from the WNBA playoffs. No. 3 seed Los Angeles advance to play second-seeded Connecticut Sun, which earned a double-bye to the semifinals. The best-of-five series begins Tuesday in Connecticut. The WNBA said that they will pay for charter flights for the winners of the second round games to fly east so that the teams can have a full day to prepare for the first game of the semifinals. Natasha Howard gave the Storm their first lead since early in the second quarter with a 3-pointer that made it 56-55 with 3:11 left in the third but Parker answered with a layup, Gray hit a pull-up jumper and, after a short basket by Seattle's Jewell Loyd, the Sparks (scored 21 of the next 24 points to pull away for good. Nneka Ogwumike scored 17 points and Riquna Williams added 11 for the Sparks (22-12). Howard led the Storm (18-16) with 20 points, 11 rebounds and four steals. Loyd had 11 points and Mercedes Russell and Jordin Canada each scored 10. The Sparks won two of their three meetings with the Sun (23-11) in the regular season. The last came in Los Angeles on Aug. 25 and snapped Connecticut's four-game win streak, knocking the Sun from the top of the WNBA standings, one game behind the Washington Mystics. After Canada hit a short floater, Howard scored eight straight points to cap a 10-0 run that made it 18-11 but the Sparks scored 11 of the next 13 points before Crystal Langhorne's 3-pointer gave Seattle a 23-22 lead at the end of the first quarter. Gray scored eight points, including two of her four 3-pointers, in a 13-4 spurt to open the second that gave Los Angeles a nine-point lead midway through the period and the Sparks led for all but 40 seconds the rest of the way. After Howard's 3 that gave the Storm their final lead late in the third, Seattle made just one of its next 12 field-goal attempts and committed six turnovers over the next nearly-eight minutes as the Sparks built a 21-point lead.
Aces 93, Sky 92
Dearica Hamby hit a shot from a few steps inside halfcourt with 5 seconds left to lift Las Vegas to a win over Chicago Sky in the second round.
With the Aces down by two, Hamby stole a pass from Courtney Vandersloot, took a dribble over halfcourt near the sideline and threw up her shot that went in. The Sky had one last chance, but Astou Ndour's 3-pointer from the corner after a timeout was off.
Las Vegas will play Washington in the best-of-five semifinals that begin Tuesday.
Hamby admitted after the game that she didn't know how much time was left when she released her go-ahead basket.
"I didn't realize we had so much time on the clock," said Hamby, who won the league's Sixth Woman of the Year award before the game.
"Had I missed it, I never would have been able to live with it. So glad we won."
Liz Cambage had 23 points, 17 rebounds and six blocks, Hamby finished with 17 points, Kayla McBride scored 16 and Kelsey Plum 15 for Las Vegas. A'ja Wilson added 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Hamby made a short basket to give Las Vegas a five-point lead with 3:32 left in the fourth quarter but Diamond DeShields and Vandersloot each made a layup before Ndour, who made just 14 3-pointers in the regular season, hit a corner 3 with 24.4 seconds to play to give Chicago a 92-90 lead.
On the ensuing possession, Vandersloot poked the ball off the leg of A'ja Wilson, who lost it out of bounds.
Vandersloot then had the ball in the backcourt and was under pressure when Hamby stole it and hit her deep runner.
Diamond DeShields had 23 points, Ndour scored 17 and Kahleah Copper 16 for No. 5 seed Chicago.
The Aces lost two of three against Washington in the regular season, with each team winning on its opponent's home court.