Clark beats buzzer to lift Storm
BRADENTON, Fla. — Alysha Clark’s putback at the buzzer lifted the Seattle Storm past the Minnesota Lynx 8886 on Tuesday night in the first game of their semifinal series.
Seattle inbounded with 14.8 seconds left after Napheesa Collier tied it on an upandunder move. Sami Whitcomb got it in the corner and drove the baseline for a layup that missed but it fell to Clark, who corralled it and released it just before the final buzzer.
Seattle, which has won seven straight games against Minnesota, hadn’t played since Sept. 13 after earning a doublebye to the semifinals. The game was originally scheduled for Sunday, but it was postponed because of inconclusive COVID19 tests with three players on the Storm. Seattle’s Breanna Stewart and Sue Bird had been off since Sept. 9 because of injuries.
Jewell Loyd scored 18 of her 25 points in the first half, and Stewart had 21 points and 10 rebounds for Seattle. Bird had 11 points, including two fourthquarter 3pointers, and eight assists.
Game 2 is Thursday night. Aces 83, Sun 75: A’ja Wilson had 29 points, seven rebounds and a careerhigh seven blocks to lead topseeded Las Vegas past
Connecticut to even the bestoffive playoff series at 11.
DeWanna Bonner led Connecticut with 23 points and seven rebounds, and Briann January added 20 points. Alyssa Thomas, averaging 15.5 points and nine rebounds, left the game in the first quarter after injuring her right shoulder and did not return.