Strong third quarter sends Storm to 79-70 victory over the Liberty

NEW YORK (AP) — 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 the half 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. She went down underneath the New York basket and had to be helped off the court. She didn’t return and coach Sandy Brondello said after the game that Harrison would get imaging done.

It was a back-and-forth first half that saw nine lead changes. New York got a little bit of a cushion thanks to Ionescu’s four-point play with 13.8 seconds left in the second quarter that made it 44-39. The Liberty led 44-41 at the half. She finished the opening 20 minutes with 20 points, five rebounds and four assists. She only had two points in the second half and led the Liberty with 22.

Ionescu missed the first meeting between the teams two weeks ago with a neck injury.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball