Sparks defeat Wings to become 1st WNBA franchise to reach 500 wins

Liz Cambage had 21 points and 11 rebounds, Nneka Ogwumike also scored 21 points and the Los Angeles Sparks beat the Dallas Wings 97-89 on Friday night.

It was the 500th win in franchise history for Los Angeles, the first WNBA team to reach that mark.

Katie Lou Samuelson added 14 points, Lexie Brown scored 10 of her 13 points in the first half and Kristi Toliver had 11 points and seven assists for Los Angeles (8-11). Chiney Ogwumike reached 1,000 career rebounds.

Samuelson made a contested layup in the lane to give Los Angeles a 92-85 lead and Toliver sank a deep 3-pointer to make it 95-87.

Arike Ogunbowale led Dallas (9-12) with 23 points. Marina Mabrey added 17 points, Teaira McCowan had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Allisha Gray scored 10 points.

The Wings, who led 49-46 at halftime, have lost three straight games.

Seattle tops Fever

Breanna Stewart scored 18 of her 20 points in the first half, Tina Charles moved into fourth in WNBA history for career scoring and the Seattle Storm beat the Indiana Fever 73-57 on Friday night.

Charles scored nine points to reach 6,902 for her career, passing Candice Dupree with 6,895. Tamika Catchings is third with 7,380.

Ezi Magbegor had 11 points and seven rebounds, and Gabby Williams added 10 points for Seattle (13-7), which led 46-27 at halftime. Stewart reached 20-plus points for the ninth time this season.

Indiana went nearly eight minutes without a field goal in the first half as Seattle built a 22-12 lead. The Fever scored just six points through the opening seven minutes of the fourth quarter

Efficient Aces win 3rd of season against lowly Lynx

Chelsea Gray scored 21 points on 10-of-12 shooting, A'ja Wilson had 15 points and 12 rebounds, and the Las Vegas Aces beat the Minnesota Lynx 91-85 on Friday night.

Minnesota took its first lead of the game with 5:54 remaining in the fourth quarter but Las Vegas answered with a 16-6 run. Jackie Young sank a 3-pointer from the corner to extend the Aces' lead to 89-81 with 1:19 left.

Natalie Achonwa of Guelph, Ont., had six points, four assists and four rebounds to help the Lynx. Her teammate Bridget Carleton of Chatham, Ont. added a rebound.

Kelsey Plum had 18 points and 10 assists, Dearica Hamby scored 16 points and Young finished with 10 for Las Vegas (15-5), which has won three straight against the Lynx this season. Gray also had six rebounds and five assists, and Wilson reached 2,500 career points.

Rachel Banham scored 11 of her season-high 24 points in the third quarter for Minnesota (6-15), which plays Las Vegas on Sunday. Moriah Jefferson, coming off a triple-double on Tuesday, scored 20 points and Sylvia Fowles had 12 points and five rebounds.

Banham was 6 of 8 from 3-point range.

WATCH l U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner appears in Russian court:

U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner appears in Russian court

2 years ago

Duration 2:03

U.S. women's basketball star Brittney Griner appeared in Russian court Friday to face cannabis possession charges. If convicted, she could face up to 10 years behind bars. Deputy chief of mission of the U.S. Embassy supported Griner in court, saying the Russian Federation has wrongfully detained the WNBA player.