DELLE DONNE SCORES 30 AS MYSTICS BEAT LIBERTY Bell tops New Hampshire field for second straight Xfinity win
When Elena Delle Donne gets going early, it makes the Washington Mystics' offense flow so much better.
The All-Star captain had 15 of her 30 points in the opening period to help Washington beat the New York Liberty 95-78 on Saturday.
“It definitely helps the spread the floor better when I'm hitting shots,” said Delle Donne, who also had 10 rebounds.
She hit all six of her shots in the opening period, including three 3-pointers — most of them just swishing through the net.
The Mystics won for only the second time in their past six games and sit in a three-way tie for fourth in the league.
“Every game matter so much,” Delle Donne said. “It's going to be a sprint to the finish.”
Washington (14-10) led by eight at the half, and Delle Donne and Kristi Toliver combined for 20 points of the team's 32 points in the third quarter to extend the advantage to 75-53. Toliver finished with 19 points and eight assists.
New York (7-17) tried to get back in the game behind rookie Kia Nurse, who had eight straight points during one stretch to get the Liberty within 11. But that's as close as they could come.
“Excellent effort in the fourth quarter by all who came in,” Liberty coach Katie Smith said. “Maybe we can bottle that up and get four quarters of that.”
— Associated Press
Christopher Bell has cracked the Cup supremacy in Xfinity.
The 23-year-old Bell held off hardcharging 2012 Cup champion Brad Keselowski over the final 18 laps at New Hampshire Motor Speedway to win his second straight Xfinity Series race on Saturday in Loudon, N.H.
Bell pulled off the towering achievement of winning two straight Xfinity races against former champs from NASCAR's top-tier series who moonlight on Saturdays. Bell topped 2015 Cup champion Kyle Busch to win last week's race at Kentucky Speedway and he followed up Saturday in the No. 20 Toyota by keeping Keselowski at bay down the stretch for his third win this season.
"You hope to race those guys at one point, so I'm thankful that I get the opportunity here in the Xfinity Series to race with them and proud that I'm able to compete with them, let alone beat them," Bell said.
Keselowski had won the pole Saturday but was dropped to the rear of the field because he was late to the mandatory drivers meeting. It proved to be nothing more than a mild inconvenience for Keselowski in the No. 22 Ford.
He stormed past the second-tier regulars and had his fourth straight Xfinity win in sight.
Bell, who drives for Joe Gibbs Racing, had the fresh tires that Keselowski needed and that was enough to ring in a victory lane celebration. Bell gave his checkered flag to a young fan in the stands.
"I hope it means a lot more to that kid than it is to me," he said. "You know, we get trophies, we get all sorts of trophies, so hopefully it means a lot to that kid."
JGR fields cars for Busch and Bell, one reason it's continued to have success in Xfinity.
"They've won before me, they're going to win after me," Bell said. "It's my job to make sure they win with me."
Ryan Preece, John Hunter Nemechek and Matt Tift completed the top five to complete a solid showing for the Xfinity regulars.
"You see all this crap going around the Internet that Cup guys shouldn't be allowed in Xfinity," Bell said. "Why?"