UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Lexie Brown hit five 3-pointers and scored 17 points, Flau’jae Johnson had 16 and the Seattle Storm beat the Connecticut Sun 89-82 on Sunday.
Jade Melbourne had 15 points and six assists off the bench and Natisha Hiedeman finished with 11 points for the Storm (1-1). Dominique Malonga was limited to 20 foul-plagued minutes and finished with seven rebounds, six points, three blocks and two steals.
Kennedy Burke made a 3-pointer that cut Connecticut’s deficit to 80-79 with 3:38 left in the game, but Brown answered with a driving layup to spark an 8-1 run that made it 88-80 with 54 seconds remaining.
Aneesah Morrow had 17 points and a career-high 16 rebounds for the Sun (0-2). Brittney Griner added 16 points and Diamond Miller added 13. Kennedy Burke had 12 points, six rebounds, five assists and two blocks.
Hailey Van Lith had nine points and four assists in 20 minutes off the bench. Van Lith, picked No. 11 overall by Chicago in the 2025 WNBA draft, was waived by the Sky on Monday and signed with Connecticut two days later.
LIBERTY 98, MYSTICS 93, OT
WASHINGTON (AP) — Marine Johannes hit six 3-pointers and scored 25 points, Breanna Stewart had 23 points and nine rebounds, and New York beat Washington in overtime.
Rookie Pauline Astier shot 6 of 10 from the field and 6 of 7 from the free throw line, finishing with 18 points, seven assists, five rebounds and two steals for the Liberty (2-0). Jonquel Jones added 13 points and eight rebounds.
Stewart missed a potential winning jumper at the end of regulation.
Johannes hit a 3-pointer and Astier added a driving layup that gave the Liberty a six-point lead with 1:54 remaining, but Shakira Austin answered with a layup before Kiki Iriafen made two free throws and then a layup to make it 92-all with 33.5 seconds to go.
Betnijah Laney-Hamilton made two free throws with 29 seconds to play and, after Sonia Citron lost the ball out of bounds, Astier hit two foul shots that gave the Liberty a 96-92 lead 10 seconds later.
ACES 105, SPARKS 78
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Chennedy Carter scored 22 points, Jackie Young had 20 points and nine assists, and Las Vegas beat Los Angeles in the Sparks’ season opener.
A’ja Wilson had 19 points and four rebounds for Las Vegas. Wilson has 2,502 career rebounds in 269 games, tied with Lisa Leslie for third fastest to reach 2,500 in WNBA history. Tina Charles reached milestone in a record 248 games.
Chelsea Gray scored 16 points and NaLyssa Smith 12.
Las Vegas, the defending WNBA champion, lost 99-66 to Phoenix in its season opener Saturday.
Against Los Angeles, the Aces shot 62% (43 of 69) from the field — the second-best mark in franchise history.
VALKYRIES 95, MERCURY 79
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Janelle Salaun scored 21 points off the bench, Gabby Williams contributed 19 points and five rebounds in her home debut for Golden State after the All-Star forward signed last month, and the Valkyries beat Phoenix.
Kayla Thornton also scored 19 and Veronica Burton added 13 points and 12 assists for the second-year Valkyries, who made history by becoming the first expansion franchise to reach the playoffs in its first season before losing to top-seeded Minnesota 75-74.
Alyssa Thomas had 19 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds for the Mercury, who completed a road back-to-back. They routed the defending champion Las Vegas Aces 99-66 on Saturday with Natasha Mack grabbing 15 rebounds — the largest road win in franchise history and a rematch of the 2025 WNBA Finals. Mack managed only two rebounds Sunday.
Kiana Williams, a former Stanford star whose Hall of Fame college coach Tara VanDerveer was in attendance, made a 3-pointer with 8:03 left that pulled Phoenix within 73-68, and Thomas’ two free throws at the 7:34 mark made it 73-70.
Then Salaun converted three free throws for Golden State with 5:43 to play before her layup the next time down made it 83-70. That delighted the sellout crowd at 18,064-capacity Chase Center, where the Valkyries sold out all 22 of their home games last year.
The Associated Press
