Breanna Stewart scores 24 points and Liberty beat Sky to finish season

By Canadian Press on September 11, 2025.

CHICAGO (AP) — Breanna Stewart scored 24 points, Rebekah Gardner had 15 and Emma Messemann added 14 as the New York Liberty beat the Chicago Sky 91-86 on Thursday night.

The Liberty (27-17) start the postseason on the road against the No. 4 seed Phoenix Mercury on Sunday. New York is the fifth seed after closing the regular season on a three-game winning streak.

Chicago (10-34) lost 13 of its final 15 games to end the season.

Sabrina Ionescu had 11 points, 11 assists and five rebounds for New York. She became the first player in franchise history to record 11 assists without a turnover. Ionescu also had her third consecutive game with nine or more assists, tying a career high.

Sky rookie Maddy Westbeld scored a career-high 25 points — 13 in the fourth quarter. Kamilla Cardoso added 21 points, and Rachel Banham had 13 points and 10 assists. Angel Reese (back) did not play.

LYNX 72, VALKYRIES 53

MINNEAPOLIS (AP — Natisha Hiedeman scored 21 points, Napheesa Collier had 19 and Minnesota beat Golden State Valkyries to set a franchise record with 34 wins.

Minnesota (34-10) had already cliched home-court advantage in the playoffs, locking up the No. 1 seed with a win over Connecticut last week. The Lynx tied the 2023 Las Vegas Aces for the most regular-season wins in WNBA history.

Golden State (23-21) dropped to the No. 8 seed in the playoffs and will play Minnesota again on Sunday to begin a best-of-three series.

Collier finished the regular season shooting 53% from the field, 40.3% from 3-point range and 91% from the free-throw line to join Elena Delle Donne (in 2019) as the only players in WNBA history to have a 50/40/90 season.

Jessica Shepard had 11 points and 14 rebounds for Minnesota. DiJonai Carrington (shoulder) missed her fourth straight game.

Iliana Rupert, Veronica Burton, Kaila Charles and Cecilia Zandalasini each scored eight points to lead Golden State.

ACES 103, SPARKS 75

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A’ja Wilson had 23 points and 19 rebounds, Jewell Loyd added 21 points and Las Vegas made a single-game WNBA record 22 3-pointers in their 16th consecutive win, over Los Angeles.

Las Vegas (30-14) is tied for the second-longest win streak in league history with the Phoenix Mercury. The Aces secured the No. 2 seed in the playoffs and will face the Seattle Storm on Sunday to begin a three-game series.

The Sparks (21-23) were pushed out of a playoff spot after Seattle beat Golden State on Tuesday.

Las Vegas went 22 of 45 from 3-point range to top the league record of 19 set by New York and Atlanta. Loyd hit seven 3-point shots and Jackie Young went 5 for 10.

Young finished with 17 points and 12 assists to become the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 3,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists, doing so in 243 games.

The Associated Press