Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones guide Liberty to 79-71 win over Wings for 8th straight victory
NEW YORK (AP) — Breanna Stewart scored 19 points, Jonquel Jones finished with her third straight double-double and the New York Liberty upped their win streak to eight with a 79-71 victory over the Dallas Wings on Thursday night.
Stewart made just 5 of 18 shots from the floor for New York (25-4), missing all three of her 3-pointers, but she made 9 of 11 free throws and added seven rebounds, six assists and three steals. Jones totaled 13 points and 13 rebounds as the Liberty picked up their second win over Dallas (6-22) in three days.
Leonie Fiebich and Kayla Thornton both scored 16 for New York.
Arike Ogunbowale had 19 points, eight assists and six rebounds to pace the Wings, who have lost three in a row and six of their last seven. Natasha Howard had 16 points, eight rebounds and half of Dallas' 14 turnovers before fouling out. Teaira McCowan scored 13 of her 14 points in the second half and added eight boards. Satou Sabally pitched in with 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Stewart scored six points in the first four minutes to help New York jump out to a 9-3 lead. Dallas battled back for a 17-14 advantage after one quarter on Ogunbowale's 3-pointer with two seconds left.
Kennedy Burke scored the first two baskets in the second as the Liberty regained the lead and Stewart hit the second of two free throws to make it 28-19 with 4:21 left before halftime. Ogunbowale had a layup and a three-point play and Sabally hit a jumper to cap a 7-2 spurt in the final 1:53 to get the Wings within 35-32 at intermission.
Dallas tied the score at 44 apiece at the 4:31 mark of the third and got within one, 50-49, in the final minute of the quarter but New York answered with Fiebich's 3-pointer with 17 seconds remaining to take a 53-49 advantage into the final period.
Ogunbowale had a three-point play with 6:47 to play to put Dallas ahead 56-55. New York responded with layups from Jones and Stewart, allowing the Liberty to regain the lead, 59-56. The Stars would twice more cut the deficit to a point, but a late 9-2 run by the Liberty wrapped up the victory.
New York's Sabrina Ionescu (neck) and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton (knee) missed both games against the Wings with injuries.
UP NEXT
New York: The Liberty host the Connecticut Sun on Saturday.
Dallas: The Wings host the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday.
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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
