



Gabby Williams scored 16 points, Nneka Ogwumike added 15 to help the Seattle Storm beat the New York Liberty 79-70 on Sunday.
The Storm (12-7) trailed by three at halftime before outscoring New York 22-6 in the third quarter. They held the Liberty to just 2-for-18 shooting from the field in the period, including New York (12-6) missing its first 10 shots.
Meanwhile, Skylar Diggins, Ogwumike and Williams were converting on the other end. Dominique Malonga, the No. 2 pick in the draft, took over at the end of the quarter. She didn’t play in the first half, but made the most of her minutes in the second.
The 6-foot-6 French forward had 11 points and eight rebounds in just 10 minutes. She also altered a few of Breanna Stewart’s shots on the defensive end. Stewart finished with just eight points, the first time she hadn’t reached double digits since the opening game of the 2024 season.
New York also lost reserve forward Isabelle Harrison to a right knee injury with 2:31 left in the third quarter.
Lynx 82, Valkyries 71: Napheesa Collier scored 22 points and Courtney Williams had 15 for Minnesota late Saturday in Minneapolis.
The Valkyries took a 56-54 lead in the middle of the third quarter with a 10-0 run that started with a pair of 3-pointers by Tiffany Hayes but the Lynx closed with a 15-4 run to take a 69-60 lead into the fourth quarter.
Minnesota (16-2) pushed the lead to 78-63 on Kayla McBride’s 3-pointer with 4:16 to play.
Hayes had a season-high 23 points for expansion Golden State (9-8), which had won two straight and four of five. Kayla Thornton scored 13 points, but only two after the first quarter. Stephanie Talbot added 10.
ALL-STAR RESERVES
Kayla Thornton, Gabby Williams, Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron will be making their All-Star debuts in Indianapolis later this month as they were all chosen on Sunday as reserves for the game.
Thornton has been in the league for nine years and finally is getting her chance to play in the exhibition game. She was selected in the expansion draft by Golden State last year from New York and has helped the expansion team get off to a good start.
“It would be such a reward for her,” said New York’s Sandy Brondello, who will be one of the All-Star coaches. “She’s been a role player all her career, but to go into a new organization and do so well, I voted for her as an alternate to get there because she deserves it.”
Williams has been in the league for six seasons, although she’s missed time to play with France’s national team. She’s having a strong season for Seattle this year.
Washington rookies Iriafen and Citron join Dallas’ Paige Bueckers as first-year players on the All-Star team. Bueckers was chosen as a starter. It’s the first time that three rookies will be playing in the game since 2011.
Other reserves chosen include Seattle’s Skylar Diggins, Phoenix’s Alyssa Thomas, Atlanta’s Rhyne Howard, Indiana’s Kelsey Mitchell, the Sparks’ Kelsey Plum, Minnesota’ Courtney Williams, Las Vegas’ Jackie Young and Chicago’s Angel Reese.
The reserves were selected by the WNBA’s 13 head coaches.
Captains Caitlin Clark and Napheesa Collier will draft their teams for the All-Star Game on July 19. The All-Star teams will be revealed on Tuesday.