Meesseman, Stewart help Liberty beat Mystics

NEW YORK (AP) — Emma Meesseman scored 19 points and Breanna Stewart added 14 to help the New York Liberty beat the Washington Mystics 75-66 on Tuesday night.

For the first time since early in the season, New York had its entire roster available. Sabrina Ionescu returned after missing a few games with a toe injury. Nyara Sabally played in her first game since July 16 as she recovered from a knee issue.

The Liberty (26-17), who have locked up the No. 5 seed in the playoffs, are confident they can repeat as champions now that they are healthy.

They finish off the regular season in Chicago on Thursday before most likely heading to Phoenix to open the playoffs on Sunday.

Jonquel Jones added 12 points and 11 rebounds as New York improved to 34-0 when she gets a double-double in the regular season over her time with the Liberty.

FEVER 83, LYNX 72

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Kelsey Mitchell scored 18 points and Indiana wrapped up the regular season with a win over league-leading Minnesota, who were resting MVP candidate Napheesa Collier.

Indiana (24-20) scored the first 10 points of the game and led by as many as 24, an impressive performance without star Caitlin Clark, who has only played 13 games this season and will not play in the playoffs that begin Sunday.

Odyssey Sims scored 15 points for the Fever, who set a franchise record for most wins in a season. Aliyah Boston had 12 points and eight rebounds, breaking her own club record for rebounds in a season with 361.

Jessica Shepherd, starting in place of Collier, scored 16 points for the Lynx (33-10), who play their last game at home Thursday against Golden State. They finished 2 of 20 on 3-pointers.

ACES 92, SKY 61

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jewell Loyd became the 16th player to reach 6,000 points, scoring 15 Tuesday night to help extend the Aces’ winning streak to 15 games with a victory over Chicago.

The Aces (29-14) will clinch that seed and home-court advantage through at least the semifinals if they win at Los Angeles on Thursday or Atlanta (29-14) loses at Connecticut on Wednesday. Las Vegas owns the tiebreaker over the Dream.

Las Vegas’ franchise-record winning streak tied the 1998 Houston Comets for third longest. The 2001 Los Angeles Sparks own the record at 18 games and the 2014 Phoenix Mercury won 16 in a row.

Jackie Young also scored 15 points, one of six Aces players in double figures.

Cheyenne Parker-Tyus made her Las Vegas debut with eight points in eight minutes. Parker-Tyus, who gave birth to her second child July 1, signed with the Aces after spending the previous 10 seasons with the Sky and Atlanta Dream.

SPARKS 88, MERCURY 83

PHOENIX (AP) — Dearica Hamby scored 16 of her 25 points in the fourth quarter, Rae Burrell had a career-high 20 points off the bench and Los Angeles beat Phoenix but the Sparks were eliminated from the playoff race.

The Sparks needed a win and a Seattle loss to send the chase for the last playoff spot to the last day of the season on Thursday, but the Storm pulled out a 74-73 win over Golden State.

Phoenix, the No. 4 seed, will host fifth-seeded New York, the defending champion, in the best-of-three series when the playoffs open on Sunday.

Hamby’s layup put the Sparks on top for good at 76-74 with 4:16 to play. She followed that with a three-point play. She added a three-point play with 1:01 to go for an 86-81 lead. There were 17 lead changes.

Kelsey Plum added 17 points for the Sparks (21-22).

Alyssa Thomas had her eighth triple-double of the season for the Mercury (27-16) with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, but she and the other Phoenix starters sat out the fourth quarter, Satou Sabally led the Mercury with 24 points and Sami Whitcomb added 11.

STORM 74, VALKRIES 73

SEATTLE (AP) — Erica Wheeler scored 17 points, including a go-ahead shot with 18.5 seconds left, and Seattle beat Golden State to secure the final WNBA playoff spot.

Seattle (23-21) clinched the 20th postseason appearance in franchise history.

After Wheeler’s pull-up jumper from the free-throw line, Janelle Salaun missed a shot in the lane but she got another chance following an offensive rebound. Salaun missed a corner 3-pointer and Wheeler secured the loose ball.

Nneka Ogwumike finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, Brittney Sykes scored 14 and Skylar Diggins had 10 points and six assists for Seattle. Wheeler was 5 of 7 on 3-pointers.

Salaun had 22 points and five 3-pointers for Golden State (23-20), which became the first expansion franchise to reach the playoffs in its inaugural season on Thursday. Temi Fagbenle scored 14 points and Veronica Burton had 14 points and 11 assists. Kaila Charles added 12 points and nine rebounds.