Stewart makes history as Liberty beats Sun in Jonquel Jones’ return to Connecticut

Breanna Stewart scored 24 points to become the fastest player in WNBA history with 4,000 career points, Jonquel Jones added 14 points and 11 rebounds on her return to Connecticut, and the New York Liberty defeated the Sun 89-81 on Tuesday night.

The win moved the Liberty into a tie with Connecticut at the top of the Commissioner Cup standings in the Eastern Conference. Each team has one game left, although New York has the tiebreaker after the two games against the sun.

Las Vegas has already packed the Western Conference slot.

Alyssa Thomas led Connecticut (12–4) with 11 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds for her fifth career triple-double. She’s done it in consecutive games now and three times in the last seven days. Thomas is the all-time record holder in the category. DiJonai Carrington scored a career-high 23 points and led Connecticut.

New York (10-3) led 80-68 with 6:26 left before Connecticut (12-4) scored 13 straight runs, the last of which came on a disputed layup by Thomas with 3:39 left, which was her 11th point and gave her the triple-double. It also gave the Sun their first lead since the first half.

Kayla Thornton followed with a runner in the lane with 40.4 seconds remaining. The Sun missed eight consecutive shots in the last 3 1/2 minutes.

Carrington gave the Sun a chance to even get into the game, scoring 17 of her points in the second half.

Jones homecoming

The game served as a homecoming for Jones, who played six seasons in Connecticut before being traded to New York in the off-season. Jones won the 2021 WNBA MVP and helped the Sun reach the Finals twice, including last year.

The Sun played a tribute video to Jones a few minutes before the tip, and she received a warm ovation from the crowd.

Jones got the first basket for New York in a fast first quarter that saw Connecticut leading 29-28 at the end. The back-and-forth action continued into the second quarter, where neither team could get much of a lead. New York scored the final eight points of the half to go up 47–43 at halftime.

Collier scores 33 in his career as Lynx top Storm

Napheesa Collier had a career-high 33 points and 10 rebounds, Diamond Miller added 18 points in her return from injury, and the Minnesota Lynx defeated the Seattle Storm 104-93 on Tuesday night.

Minnesota made its first six shots of the fourth quarter on a 14-5 run to extend the lead to 94-79. After Seattle came within eight points, Miller made a jump near the free throw line with 36.3 seconds left to seal it.

Collier scored 24 in the second half to help the Lynx exceed 100 points for the first time this season.

Kia Nurse of Hamilton, Ont., scored 10 points and added three assists and five rebounds in 26 minutes for Seattle, while Bridget Carleton of Chatham, Ont. scored two points and grabbed two rebounds for Minnesota in 10 minutes of playing time.

Kayla McBride also scored 18 points for Minnesota (5-9). Rookie Dorka Juhasz had 10 points and 12 rebounds for her first double-double. Miller, who missed the last eight games with an ankle injury, was 8 of 13 on 31 minutes.

Minnesota scored 53 points in the first 20 minutes for the season’s leading scoring half.

Ezi Magbegor and Sami Whitcomb each scored 20 points for Seattle (4-10). Jewell Loyd and Ivana Dojkic each added 14 points. Whitcomb made six of Seattle’s 13 three-pointers.

Wings send Mercury to its 6th consecutive loss

Arike Ogunbowale scored 23 points, Natasha Howard had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and the Dallas Wings defeated Phoenix 77-62 on Tuesday night for the Mercury’s sixth consecutive double-digit loss.

Howard sank a wide open 3-pointer with two seconds left in the third quarter for a 56–51 lead. After Phoenix came within 63-60 with 7:30 left in the fourth, Dallas finished with a 14-2 run – including 12 unanswered runs.

Satou Sabally secured her 10th double-double of the season with 18 points and 12 rebounds for Dallas (7-8), which has won the series three times in a row. Sabally also had a career-high six assists.

Brittney Griner scored 20 points for Phoenix (2-11). Michaela Onyen added 12 points and Diana Taurasi was held to six points on 2-of-7 shooting. Sophie Cunningham (back) and Megan Gustafson (concussion) did not play.