Peddy gets Phoenix through at buzzer

Shey Peddy made a buzzerbeating 3pointer to give the Phoenix Mercury an 8584 comefrombehind victory over the defending champion Washington Mystics on Tuesday night in the first round of the WNBA playoffs in Bradenton, Fla.

Fifthseeded Phoenix advances to play No. 4 seed Minnesota on Thursday in the second round.

Washington guard Leilani Mitchell went 1for2 from the freethrow line with 5.8 seconds to go for an 8482 lead. After a timeout, Diana Taurasi inbounded to Skylar DigginsSmith (24 points), who drove the lane and lofted a pass over the defense across the court to the corner. Peddy, who was cut by Washington this season, pumpfaked to get her defender in the air and beat the buzzer.

Alyssa Thomas had 26 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, DeWanna Bonner added 23 points and 12 boards, and the seventhseeded Connecticut Sun beat the sixthseeded Chicago Sky 9481. Connecticut, which overcame a franchiseworst 05 start to the season, will play thirdseeded Los Angeles on Thursday.

A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces (20.5 points, 8.5 rebounds per game) was named the Associated Press WNBA Player of the Year. Cycling: Germany’s Lennard Kamna won the Tour de France’s rollercoaster, 102mile trek featuring five categorized climbs after pulling clear of a group of breakaway riders as the race entered the Alps with a finish at VillarddeLans.

There was no significant change in the overall standings ahead of Wednesday’s mammoth summit finish in the high mountains as yellowjersey holder Primoz Roglic kept his 40second lead over secondplace Tadej Pogacar intact. Golf: The LPGA Tour’s Portland Classic set for this weekend has been reduced to 54 holes because of poor air quality caused by wildfires that have been burning across the West.