Seattle’s Stewart earns league’s top honor
Seattle forward Breanna Stewart, who finished second in the WNBA in scoring and led the Storm to the best record in the league, was announced as the WNBA’s Most Valuable Player on Sunday.
Stewart finished with 372 total points in the voting, earning 33 of 39 first-place votes. Dallas’ Liz Cambage finished second in the voting with 231 points, Washington’s Elena Delle Donne was third and Los Angeles’ Candace Parker was fourth.
“I think each award I’ve won for its respective level means a lot, but to be the MVP of the WNBA, the best league in the world, it’s at the top,” Stewart said before Seattle hosted Phoenix in Game 1 of a best-of-five semifinal playoff series. “And to do it with this franchise, this team, my teammates I couldn’t have imagined it any other way.”
Stewart was the league’s Rookie of the Year in 2016, and had her finest professional season this year. She averaged 21.8 points and 8.4 rebounds as Seattle went 26-8 in the regular season. She had 22 games of 20 or more points scoring.
Natasha Howard was given the league’s most improved award and Sue Bird received the Kim Perrot Sportsmanship award also Sunday before the game.
Sunday’s games
Storm 91, Mercury 87: Stewart scored 19 of her 28 points in the first half, Jewell Loyd added 23 — including Seattle’s final seven points — and the host Storm held off Phoenix in Game 1 of the teams’ semifinal series.
Seattle was in control for most of the game until Phoenix made the final minutes uncomfortable by cutting a 16-point deficit to two. Loyd then delivered two clutch baskets, one a 15-footer with a minute left to beat the shot clock and push the Storm’s lead to four.
DeWanna Bonner led Phoenix with 27 points and 13 rebounds, and Diana Taurasi added 25 points. But the third of Phoenix’s top three players, Brittney Griner, was held to 13 points and dealt with foul trouble throughout.
Natasha Howard added 20 points and Bird had 10 points and 10 assists for Seattle, which made 13 three-pointers, including 10 in the first half.
Game 2 of the series is Tuesday in Seattle. Mystics 87, Dream 84: Delle Donne had 32 points and 13 rebounds and Ariel Atkins added 15 points as visiting Washington beat Atlanta in the first game of the teams’ best-of-five semifinal series.
The Mystics hit all 20 of their free-throw attempts.
Elizabeth Williams finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds for Atlanta, which did not lead. Tiffany Hayes, the Dream’s season scoring leader, had 17 points but was mostly a nonfactor until the fourth quarter.
Game 2 of the series is Tuesday in Atlanta.