NEW YORK (AP) — Betnijah Laney-Hamilton scored 18 points in her return to the starting lineup and the New York Liberty beat the Seattle Storm 77-70 on Thursday night.
Laney-Hamilton returned from a right knee injury on Aug. 26 that sidelined her for roughly six weeks after she had surgery.
Sabrina Ionescu added 17 points and Jonquel Jones had 15 for the Liberty (28-6).
With the Liberty trailing 57-56 late in the third quarter, Laney-Hamilton sparked a 12-0 run that spanned the final two periods. She had seven points and two assists during that burst.
Breanna Stewart, who missed her first eight shots from the field, hit her first basket of the game during that spurt and capped it with a 3-pointer. She had 13 of her 14 points in the second half.
Seattle couldn’t get within seven the rest of the way.
MYSTICS 90, MERCURY 77
PHOENIX (AP) — Karlie Samuelson came off the bench to score 19 points and Washington continued their late-season playoff push with a victory over Phoenix.
Washington (11-23), which opened the season with 12 straight losses, has won five of its last six to pull a half-game behind the Chicago Sky and Atlanta Dream for the final spot in the postseason.
Phoenix (17-18) won just once in a five-game homestand, beating Atlanta 74-66 on Tuesday to clinch a playoff spot.
Samuelson made all six of her shots from the floor, five of them 3-pointers, and 2 of 3 free throws for the Mystics. Brittney Sykes and Julie Vanloo scored 14 and 13, respectively. Emily Engstler added 10 points as the Mystics’ reserves outscored their counterparts 44-24.
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