Liberty stay in playoff chase after 91-73 win over Wings

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Sabrina Ionescu had 13 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, Sami Whitcomb added 15 points and the New York Liberty stayed in the playoff race with a 91-73 victory over the Dallas Wings on Wednesday night.

New York (14-20) moved into a tie with Atlanta for the eighth playoff spot, and the two teams play each other on Friday and Sunday to close the regular season. Dallas (17-17) is in the No. 6 spot in the playoffs. The Wings play Phoenix on Friday and Los Angeles on Sunday.

Ionescu, coming off a season-high 32 points against Dallas on Monday, was scoreless in the first half, going 0 for 4 from the field. But Ionescu responded after halftime with 11 points, four rebounds and four assists in the third quarter, including a layup just before the buzzer to extend New York’s lead to 67-57.

Marine Johannes added 13 points for New York, which outscored Dallas’ reserves 50-9. Whitcomb made four of her first six 3-pointers, the last with 6:10 left in the third quarter, for a 51-47 lead.

Marina Mabrey, coming off a career-high 31 points in a scoring battle with Ionescu on Monday, had 19 points and Teaira McCowan added 17 points and 13 rebounds for Dallas, which had its franchise record five-game winning streak snapped. Arike Ogunbowale, Dallas’ leading scorer, is out for the rest of the regular season and the first-round playoff matchup after having abdominal surgery on Tuesday.

Dallas jumped out to a 26-13 lead after making nine of its first 15 shots and led 31-18 entering the second quarter. But the Wings only scored five points through the opening seven minutes of the second quarter as New York used a 18-5 run to tie it at 36. The Wings led 39-38 at the break.

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