Liberty hold – Pauline Astier scored 16 points as the New York Liberty held off the Phoenix Mercury 75-68, turning a late third-quarter lead into a decisive stretch that kept their rivals from ever fully getting back in it.
NEW YORK — Pauline Astier didn’t just slow the Phoenix Mercury down. She took the game back.
Astier scored 16 points for the New York Liberty. with Betnijah Laney-Hamilton adding 13. as New York held on for a 75-68 win on Friday night. Two days earlier. the teams had already played. and the Liberty carried that momentum again—this time using a 23-0 run to close out the third quarter and establish a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
On Friday, the Liberty led 54-52 with a minute left in the third quarter. After that. everything tightened for Phoenix: New York ripped off a 13-5 run over the next four minutes to move ahead 67-57 with 6:59 remaining. The final play of the surge told the story—Jonquel Jones blocked Kahleah Copper. then Astier pushed the ball down the court for a layup by Rebekah Gardner.
Phoenix, which had lost five straight for the first time since 2023, tried to answer immediately. The Mercury used an 8-0 run to pull within 67-65 with 3:16 left. Astier stopped the drift with a driving layup that restored New York’s two-score advantage.
The finish had a familiar tension—Phoenix refused to fold, not even when the scoreboard kept getting worse. The Mercury trailed 71-65 with 46 seconds left when Monique Akoa Makani drilled a 3-pointer. Alyssa Thomas then came up with a steal on the next possession, giving Phoenix a chance to tie the game. But DeWanna Bonner’s 30-footer fell short. Astier then hit two free throws with 8.8 seconds left to seal the win.
Copper fought to keep Phoenix in reach. After missing her first seven shots from the field, she responded with 14 of her 16 points in the third and fourth quarters.
Elsewhere in the WNBA, Nia Coffey poured in 20 points and made six 3-pointers as Minnesota beat Chicago. Coffey finished 6 of 9 from behind the arc for her most points since dropping 23 against Seattle on May 27. 2018. and she added eight rebounds. Minnesota took control in the third quarter, outscoring the Sky 31-16 to take a 64-46 lead. Natasha Howard scored the opening six points of the third. and Coffey hit back-to-back
3-pointers to cap a 12-0 run for a 45-30 advantage. Rookie Olivia Miles had 17 points. six rebounds and six assists. including eight points in the third with six coming at the free-throw line. Howard finished with 14 for Minnesota (6-2), which improved to 4-0 on the road this season. Courtney Williams added 10, and Kayla McBride scored nine points on 3-of-13 shooting after missing her first six 3-pointers. Kamilla Cardoso had 12 points and
13 rebounds. while Skylar Diggins scored 12 points for Chicago (3-5). which remains winless in four home games.
Washington’s night also turned on late execution as Los Angeles beat the Mystics. Erica Wheeler scored eight of her 21 points in the final 70 seconds. Nneka Ogwumike posted 20 points and 11 rebounds. and the Sparks held on. Ogwumike moved into sixth place on the WNBA’s career rebounding list with 3. 312 and also set a franchise-record mark with 2. 339 made field goals. She moved past Lisa Leslie, who had 2,332 field goals
for Los Angeles and 3,307 career rebounds. Cameron Brink tied her season high with 16 points—14 in the first half. including a 3-pointer with 17 seconds left to give Los Angeles a 42-37 lead at halftime. Dearica Hamby added 14 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and four steals. Kelsey Plum—listed as ill/with a right ankle—did not play. Shakira Austin made two free throws that tied it at 81-all with 2:07 to play. but Ogwumike answered
with a 3-pointer before Wheeler sealed the outcome. Austin led Washington (3-4) with 25 points and 10 rebounds, her fourth double-double this season. Sonia Citron scored 15 of her 21 in the second half and had eight assists. and Kiki Iriafen had 13 points and nine rebounds.
In Portland. Angel Reese recorded 18 points. 12 rebounds and five assists. Rhyne Howard added 14 points and six steals. and Atlanta beat Portland. The Dream’s lead was trimmed to 59-53 after Portland closed the third quarter on a 14-5 run. capped by Sarah Ashlee Barker’s 3-pointer with 20.1 seconds left. Atlanta then outscored the Fire 27-13 in the fourth. The Dream started the fourth with a 9-0 run to regain control. Naz Hillmon grabbed
an offensive rebound and put it back while being fouled with 4:49 to play. and she converted the free throw to make it a 20-point lead at 77-57. Hillmon finished with 14 points and five steals, and Allisha Gray added 13 for Atlanta (5-2). Gray also surpassed 1,000 career made free throws, and Atlanta went 17 of 20 at the line compared to eight attempts for Portland. Barker led Portland (5-4) with 14 points, with
Carla Leite adding 11 and Emily Engstler and Megan Gustafson each scoring 10. Holly Winterburn made her first career WNBA start in place of Bridget Carleton (back) and finished with six points and seven assists. Carleton is second on the team in scoring (15.3 per game) and averages 2.1 steals. second in the WNBA behind Atlanta’s Jordin Canada (2.3).
WNBA New York Liberty Phoenix Mercury Pauline Astier Betnijah Laney-Hamilton Jonquel Jones Kahleah Copper DeWanna Bonner alyssa thomas Rebekah Gardner Nia Coffey Minnesota Lynx Chicago Sky Ogwumike Los Angeles Sparks Erica Wheeler Angel Reese Atlanta Dream Portland Fire