COLLEGE PARK, Ga. (AP) — Rhyne Howard scored 19 points, Brionna Jones had 16 points and 13 rebounds for her 12th double-double of the season, and the Atlanta Dream beat the Los Angeles Sparks 86-75 on Wednesday night to move into sole possession of second place in the WNBA standings.
Atlanta (27-14), which has won five of its last six games, moved a half-game ahead of Las Vegas (26-14) and Phoenix (26-14) with three games remaining. The Dream play Los Angeles again on Friday, followed by a two-game series with Connecticut to end the season.
Los Angeles (19-21) trails Indiana (21-20) by a game and a half for the eighth and final playoff spot.
Naz Hillmon added 15 points and Maya Caldwell scored 14 for Atlanta. Jordin Canada recorded her first double-double this season with 10 points and 10 assists.
Dearica Hamby had 21 points, nine rebounds and four assists for Los Angeles. Kelsey Plum had 18 points and seven assists, and Rickea Jackson scored 15.
Los Angeles scored the opening 10 points of the game as Atlanta missed its first seven field goals. But the Dream closed the frame on a 12-3 run to take a 26-24 lead. Atlanta started the second quarter on a 15-3 run to build a 41-27 lead.
Atlanta led 53-41 at the break behind Howard’s 12 points and three 3-pointers. The Dream led by at least eight points the entire second half.
SKY 88, SUN 64
CHICAGO (AP) — Angel Reese had 18 points and 13 rebounds for her 23rd double-double this season, Kamilla Cardoso scored 16 points, and Chicago beat Connecticut to snap a four-game losing streak.
Chicago (10-30) improved to 6-15 at home, while Connecticut (10-31) dropped to 4-17 on the road this season. Both teams had already been eliminated from playoff contention.
Tina Charles was 8-for-13 shooting and led Connecticut with 19, passing Diana Taurasi (3,341) for the most made field goals in WNBA history with 3,347. Saniya Rivers added 16 points.
Kia Nurse added 12 points, and Rachel Banham and Elizabeth Williams each scored 10 for Chicago. Banham made two 3-pointers to move into second place in franchise history with 82 in a single season, trailing Marina Mabrey’s 89.
Chicago scored the opening eight points of the game and led throughout. It was 30-10 after the opening minute of the second quarter and 42-27 at halftime. The Sky shot 51.7% from the field in the first half and 11 of 13 at the free-throw line.
The Associated Press
