Seattle Storm ended a six-game skid, beating Atlanta Dream 80-78, led by Skylar Diggins’ 21 points and 11 assists
Golden State Valkyries thrashed Chicago Sky 90-59, with Cecilia Zandalasini scoring 20, setting a record 18 wins for an expansion team
Las Vegas Aces notched a sixth straight win over Phoenix Mercury 86-83, powered by A’ja Wilson’s 30 points and 16 rebounds
A’ja Wilson had 30 points and 16 rebounds, Chelsea Gray scored 10 of her 16 points in the fourth quarter and the Las Vegas Aces beat the Phoenix Mercury 86-83 on Friday night for their sixth straight victory.
Gray made a jumper from the free throw line with 1:14 remaining for an 84-79 lead. Phoenix scored the next four points to get within one on Alyssa Thomas' layup with 30 seconds left.
Wilson was short on a long jumper with the shot clock winding down and Phoenix called a timeout with 3.6 seconds left. Gray stole Phoenix's poor inbounds pass, and she made two free throws with 0.8 seconds left.
Gray also blocked Satou Sabally’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer to seal it.
Jackie Young had 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists for Las Vegas (20-14). Gray also had a season-high nine assists.
Sabally led Phoenix (19-13) with 26 points. Thomas had 15 points, nine assists and six rebounds, and Kahleah Copper also scored 15 points.
Valkyries set expansion wins record
Cecilia Zandalasini scored a career-high 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting, and the expansion Golden State Valkyries beat the Chicago Sky 90-59 for their fourth consecutive win.
Golden State (18-15) set the WNBA record for wins by an expansion team, breaking the mark of 17 set by the 1998 Detroit Shock in a 30-game season.
The Sky have lost four in a row and 12 of their last 13.
Janelle Salaün had 15 points, and Iliana Rupert hit 4 of 4 from 3-point range and finished with 14 for the Valkyries. Tiffany Hayes scored 13 and Veronica Burton added 11.
Rachel Banham led Chicago (8-25) with 15 points, Kamilla Cardoso scored 14 and Elizabeth Williams 10.
Storm cool Dream in Canada
Skylar Diggins had 21 points and 11 assists and the Seattle Storm hung on to beat the Atlanta Dream 80-78 to end a six-game skid at Rogers Arena in the first WNBA regular-season game outside the United States.
Nneka Ogwumike scored 15 points, Brittney Sykes added 13 and Dominique Malonga had 12 points and eight rebounds as the Storm (17-17) squandered a 15-point lead before snapping Atlanta's six-game win streak.
Rhyne Howard scored 21 points and Brionna Jones had 18 points and 10 rebounds for Atlanta (21-12).
The Storm led 60-45 with 3:25 left in the third quarter. Erica Wheeler, with a second left in the quarter, threw an inbounds pass to Diggins for a 3-pointer as time expired to give the Storm a 67-55 lead.
But Seattle went scoreless for nearly five minutes to open the fourth and Nia Coffey made a layup that gave Atlanta a 71-69 lead with 4:21 to play.
Howard hit a 3-pointer in the first quarter to break the Dream's career record for made 3s with 326. Tiffany Hayes (325) previously held the record.
