Breanna Stewart scored a game-high 25 points as the New York Liberty defeated the host Los Angeles Sparks 87-79 on Sunday afternoon.
Marine Johannes added 15 points for the Liberty, who also got a game-high 13 rebounds and 13 points from Jonquel Jones. It was Jones’ sixth straight game with at least 10 rebounds.
New York’s starting guards, Courtney Vandersloot and Sabrina Ionescu, combined for 14 assists. Vandersloot had eight points and a game-high nine assists. Ionescu had 14 points and five helpers.
The teams will play again on Tuesday night in Los Angeles.
New York (19-6), which never trailed on Sunday, has won five of its past six games. The Liberty recovered from an 88-83 loss to the Minnesota Lynx on Friday and have not lost back-to-back games all season.
In addition, New York has the second-best record in the WNBA, trailing only the Las Vegas Aces.
The Sparks (9-16), who are in danger of missing the playoffs for the third straight year, have lost nine of their past 11 games.
Reserve forward Dearica Hamby led the Sparks with 21 points.
Sparks star Nneka Ogwumike was held to 10 points and five rebounds. She entered the game leading the Sparks in scoring (20.3 points per game) and rebounding (9.3 board per game).
New York led 25-11 after the first quarter and 51-35 at halftime. Johannes went 5-for-5 on first-half 3-pointers, leading all scorers with 15 points.
The Liberty’s first-half domination was complete, as they shot 55.6 percent from the floor, including 10 of 18 on 3-point attempts. The Liberty also had a 21-8 rebounding advantage and held the Sparks to 42.1 percent shooting, including 1-for-10 from deep.
New York extended its lead to 69-50 after three quarters.
In the fourth, the Sparks had a 15-0 run to cut their deficit to 80-73 with 1:47 left. But Ionescu hit a 3-pointer on New York’s next possession, and Los Angeles never seriously threatened the rest of the way.
–Field Level Media
