Sparks beat Mercury 94-71 as Brittney Griner scores 18 in return to ...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nneka Ogwumike scored 17 points, rookie Zia Cooke added 14 and the Los Angeles Sparks defeated Brittney Griner and the Phoenix Mercury 94-71 on Friday night in Griner’s first WNBA game since being jailed in Russia.

Griner had 18 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots in 25 minutes. She has been free since December when she was part of a high-profile prisoner swap after spending months in a Russian jail.

Griner was arrested at a Moscow airport in February 2022 after Russian authorities said a search of her luggage revealed vape cartridges containing cannabis oil.

Cooke shot 5 of 6 from the floor and made both her 3-pointers in her league debut in front of Dawn Staley, her former college coach. Cooke was taken 10th overall by the Sparks in the draft after starring at South Carolina.

Chiney Ogwumike added 15 points for the Sparks, who had five players in double figures.

Among those in attendance were Magic Johnson, Pau Gasol, Byron Scott, Robert Horry, Billie Jean King and Los Angeles Lakers coach Darvin Ham. Vice President Kamala Harris visited both teams in their locker rooms before the game.

MYSTICS 80, LIBERTY 64

WASHINGTON (AP) — Natasha Cloud and Ariel Atkins each scored 14 points and Washington beat new-look New York to give longtime assistant Eric Thibault a win in his coaching debut.

Elena Delle Donne added 13 points and Kristi Toliver scored 10 in her return to Washington after spending two seasons in Los Angeles.

New York, which was labeled a super team during the offseason, shot just 34% from the field and turned it over 20 times in the season opener for both teams.

Sabrina Ionescu led New York with 18 points. Breanna Stewart had 12 points and 12 rebounds despite picking up her fourth foul with 3:42 left in the third quarter.

New York has high expectations this season after adding former MVPs Jonquel Jones through a trade and Stewart as a free agent. The Liberty also signed All-Star point guard Courtney Vandersloot.

Jones scored five points in 19 minutes and Vandersloot had eight points and six assists.

SUN 70, FEVER 61

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — DeWanna Bonner scored 19 points, Alyssa Thomas had 18 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, and Connecticut held off No. 1 pick Aliyah Boston and Indiana to begin the WNBA season.

Former Indiana coach Stephanie White got the win in her Connecticut debut after replacing Curt Miller, who took the Sun to the WNBA Finals last season.

Connecticut led by 15 points after three quarters but Indiana scored the opening 10 points of the fourth to cut its deficit to 58-53. The Sun eventually scored with 3:06 left on Bonner’s fast-break layup.

Kelsey Mitchell scored 15 of Indiana’s 28 first-half points and finished with 20 points. Boston added 15 points and nine rebounds.

Brionna Jones added 13 points and nine rebounds for Connecticut despite fouling out with 4:06 left in the fourth. Starters Tiffany Hayes and Natisha Hiedeman combined to shoot just 3 of 19.

SKY 77, LYNX 66

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kahleah Copper had 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists, Alanna Smith scored 15 points and Chicago used a big second quarter to beat the Minnesota in a WNBA opener.

Chicago pulled away in the second quarter after outscoring Minnesota 22-3 for a 44-27 lead at the break. The Lynx shot just 1 for 15 from the floor in the period and turned it over 11 times, leading to 13 Chicago points.

Chicago held a double-digit lead for the first 18 minutes of the second half until Kayla McBride made it 75-66 with 1:03 left in the fourth. Smith answered with two free throws to help seal it.

Elizabeth Williams added 14 points and Rebekah Gardner had 10 for Chicago. The Sky scored 17 points off 20 Minnesota turnovers.

Napheesa Collier, who missed most of last season while on maternity leave, led Minnesota with 17 points and McBride added 12. Diamond Miller, the No. 2 pick out of Maryland, had nine points and seven rebounds in 23 minutes.

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