WASHINGTON (AP) — Elena Delle Donne scored 25 points, making WNBA history along the way, and the regular-season champion Washington Mystics raced past the Chicago Sky 100-86 on Sunday.
She became the first player in WNBA history to shoot over 50% from the field (220 of 427), 40% from 3-point range (52 of 121) and 90% from the foul line (114 of 117). Her free throw percent of 97.4 is a record for a player with at least 100 attempts.
The Mystics (26-8), who lost to Seattle in the finals last year, have a double-bye into the semifinals and home court advantage throughout the playoffs. The Sky (20-14) are the No. 5 seed and play No. 8 Phoenix at home on Wednesday in the single-elimination opening round of the playoffs.
Chicago’s Courtney Vandersloot had six assists to become the first player in league history to reach 300 in a season, which she did exactly, and the first player to average at least nine assists a game for a season (9.1).
Washington lead 56-39 at the half but Chicago cut the lead to six in the final minute of the third quarter. Tianna Hawkins answered with a layup for the Mystics and after a Sun miss Myisha Hines-Allen hit a 3 with 1.5 seconds left to restore the double-figure lead. Chicago never challenged in the fourth quarter.
Diamond DeShields led the Sun with 16 points. Allie Quigley added 13 with three 3-pointers, giving her a Chicago record 80 for the season.
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
