New York Liberty saw the return of star player Breanna Stewart
Aces clinched a spot in the WNBA playoffs, defeating Sky
A'ja Wilson added 18 points
Jackie Young scored 22 points, A'ja Wilson added 18 along with nine rebounds, and the Las Vegas Aces clinched a spot in the WNBA playoffs by defeating the Chicago Sky 79-74 for their 11th consecutive win.
Las Vegas (25-14) overcame Ariel Atkins' season-high 30 points and another double-double from Angel Reese to join the Minnesota Lynx as teams guaranteed to be in this season's playoffs.
The Aces' latest victory didn't come easy, however, as the Sky erased a 14-point third-quarter deficit to take a 74-73 lead on Reese's layup with 2:37 remaining.
Chicago (9-28) failed to score the rest of the way, though, and the Aces went ahead for good on Chelsea Gray's 3-pointer with 1:35 left.
Gray went 4 of 5 from 3-point range and finished with 14 points, while Young ended 4 of 6 from beyond the arc and 9 of 13 from the field.
Reese amassed 10 points and 17 rebounds for her league-leading 20th double-double. Team-mate Kamilla Cardoso posted one as well with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Young was on fire in the first half, recording 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting and accounting for all of the Aces' points during a 12-2 run to close out the second quarter that sent Las Vegas into the break owning a 44-32 lead.
Chicago got back in it in the third quarter by scoring nine consecutive points, capped by Atkins' jumper with 3:43 left in the period that cut the Aces' advantage to 51-49.
Stewart returns to help Liberty hold off Sun
Receiving a big boost from the return of Breanna Stewart, the New York Liberty picked up a much-needed win after holding on for an 81-79 victory over the Connecticut Sun.
Stewart scored 19 points in 21 minutes in her first appearance in a month to help the defending WNBA champions avoid a fifth loss in six games. The two-time league MVP missed 13 games with a bone bruise in her right knee, a stretch in which New York (23-15) went 5-8 and dropped from second to fifth in the overall standings.
Jonquel Jones gave the Liberty a lift as well by compiling 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting along with 11 rebounds and six assists. Kennedy Burke added 14 points and was a part of a 9-0 fourth-quarter run that turned a one-point deficit into a 74-66 lead with under four minutes remaining.
Connecticut (9-28) had a season-high three-game winning streak halted despite Leila Lacan's career-high 22 points off the bench and Aneesah Morrow's 18 points and 15 rebounds.
The Sun trailed by as many as 17 points early on but fought back to take a 66-65 lead with under 6 1/2 minutes remaining. Four straight free throws from Sabrina Ionescu put the Liberty back in front, however, before a Burke 3-pointer and Emma Meesseman's layup off an Ionescu feed stretched New York's advantage to 74-66 with 3:47 to go.
Connecticut refused to go away, though, and got within 81-79 when Aaliyah Edwards made two free throws with 23.6 seconds left to play to cap a 7-0 run.
Stewart then turned the ball over on the ensuing possession, but Ionescu stripped the ball from Lacan on an attempted layup in the final seconds to preserve New York's victory.
The Liberty shot a sizzling 70.6 per cent in the first quarter to take a 27-15 lead into the second, but went 2 of 15 from the field in the following period as the Sun began closing the gap.
Connecticut outscored New York 21-10 in the second quarter, with Lacan and Morrow contributing six points each, to get within 37-36 at half-time.
