MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Napheesa Collier had 15 points and 12 rebounds and the Minnesota Lynx hit 14 3-pointers to hand the New York Liberty their second-straight loss 84-67 on Saturday.
The Lynx used three 3s in an 11-0 run to pull away from a tie late in the third quarter. A 6-2 outburst to start the fourth gave them a double-digit lead the rest of the way.
Alanna Smith also had 15 points for Minnesota (3-1). Kayla McBride hit four 3s and scored 14 points, with two of the 3s coming quickly after New York tied the game at 55 late in the third. The Liberty were 14 of 28 from 3.
Bridget Carleton, who started in place of Diamond Miller, also scored 14 points. Minnesota announced Friday that Miller was out indefinitely with a knee injury.
Breanna Stewart scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Liberty (2-4), who finished 7 of 29 behind the arc and only scored nine points in the fourth. Sabrina Ionescu added 13 points and Courtney Vandersloot had 12 but the other two starters — Jonquel Jones and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton — both had four. Leonie Fiebich had 11 points off the bench, going 3 of 5 behind the arc.
Minnesota raced to a 31-17 lead after the first hitting 7 of 11 3s; two by Cecilia Zandalasini in just three minutes off the bench.
ACES 99, FEVER 80
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Caitlin Clark might be the WNBA’s future, but A’ja Wilson showed Saturday night why she is arguably the league’s best current player with 29 points and 15 rebounds to lead Las Vegas Aces to a win over Indiana.
Clark scored eight points on 2-of-8 shooting (2 of 5 from the 3-point line) and had seven assists and five rebounds to go with six turnovers. It was the fewest points for Clark, who entered the game averaging 16.7 points. Kelsey Mitchell led Indiana (1-6) with 16 points, Temi Fagbenle had 13 and Aliyah Boston and Lexie Hull each finished with 12.
Wilson, a two-time league MVP, made 12 of 18 shots. Also for the Aces (3-1), Jackie Young scored 22 points and Kelsey Plum 20. Rookie Kate Martin, Clark’s best friend and former Iowa teammate, scored a personal-high 12 points, making two 3-pointers, a three-point play and three free throws on one foul.
Clark and Martin skipped toward each and hugged pregame. Another former Hawkeye, Megan Gustafson, plays for Las Vegas.
Their former coach, Lisa Bluder, sat courtside. Bluder, who retired May 14 after 24 years overseeing the Hawkeyes, was joined by her replacement, Jan Jansen.
SUN 86, SKY 82
CHICAGO (AP) — DeWanna Bonner scored 19 points, DiJonai Carrington and Brionna Jones each scored 16 and Connecticut beat Chicago.
Tyasha Harris scored 15 points for the Sun (5-0) who remain the only unbeaten team in the WNBA.
Connecticut’s Alyssa Thomas was ejected for a flagrant foul after appearing to wrap at least one hand around the neck of Chicago rookie Angel Reese on a play in the third quarter. Reese made the two foul shots with 3:41 left in the period to give Chicago a 60-59 lead. Carrington countered with a driving layup 38 seconds later.
Bonner’s 3-pointer with 7:03 remaining made it 78-71 before Chicago went on an 8-0 run and Dana Evans’ 3-pointer with 5:03 left gave the Sky their last lead at 79-78.
Bonner followed with a three-point play and a mid-range jumper and Connecticut led the rest of the way.
Marina Mabrey scored 23 points for Chicago (2-2) while Evans and Reese had 13 points each.
STORM 101, MYSTICS 69
SEATTLE (AP) — Nneka Ogwumike scored 19 points and Jewell Loyd added 18 to lead five Seattle players scoring in double figures as they beat Washington.
Ezi Magbegor and Skylar Diggins-Smith scored 16 points apiece and Sami Whitcomb hit 4 of 5 from 3-point range and finished with 12 points for the Storm (3-3)
The Mystics (0-6) are off to their worst start since the 2007 team opened the season with eight consecutive losses.
Diggins-Smith made two free throw with 6:26 left in the first quarter that made it 12-11 and Seattle led the rest of the way. Julie Vanloo made a driving layup that cut Washington’s deficit to 19-15 with 3:38 to go in the first quarter but the Mystics went scoreless for the next four-plus minutes and didn’t make another field goal until Jade Melbourne hit a short jumper that made it 31-19 with 8:32 remaining in the first half.
Vanloo hit a 3-pointer that pulled Washington within 50-43 at halftime but got no closer. Diggins-Smith found Magbegor for a 3-pointer that made it 55-45 with 8:09 left in the third quarter and Seattle led by double figures the rest of the way.
Karlie Samuelson led the Mystics with 16 points, Melbourne scored 13 and Vanloo 12.
WINGS 107, MERCURY 92
PHOENIX (AP) — Arike Ogunbowale scored a season-high 40 points, including 19 in the fourth quarter, and Dallas beat Phoenix.
Ogunbowale added seven rebounds, four assists and four steals. She was 11 of 24 from the field including 7 of 12 on 3-pointers, and was 11 for 12 from the free-throw line.
Maddy Siegrist scored a career-high 22 points, Monique Billings had 18 and Teaira McCowan added 13 for the Wings, who have won five straight in the series.
Dallas led by 17 points at halftime but by only seven heading to the fourth quarter. An 8-2 run in the middle of the period helped put the Wings back in charge and they finished with 31 points in the final quarter.
A 23-5 run drew Phoenix within 72-66 in the third quarter. The burst was capped by a 3-pointer from Kahleah Copper that gave her 3,000 points for her career. Phoenix scored 34 points in the third quarter after managing just 35 points in the first half.
Copper led Phoenix with 32 points. Diana Taurasi scored 28 and Sophie Cunningham added 11. Natasha Cloud had 12 assists.
Seattle Storm guard Jewell Loyd shoots next to Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier during the third quarter of a WNBA basketball game Tuesday, May 14, 2024, in Seattle. (Jennifer Buchanan/The Seattle Times via AP)
Israeli officials say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dissolved the influential War Cabinet that was tasked with steering the war in Gaza.
The War Cabinet was dissolved following the departure from the government of Benny Gantz, an opposition lawmaker who had joined the coalition in the early days of the war. He had demanded that a small Cabinet be formed as a way to sideline far-right lawmakers in Netanyahu’s government. Gantz, Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant were its members and they made key decisions together throughout the war.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the change with the media, said Monday that going forward Netanyahu would hold smaller forums with some of his government members for sensitive issues.
Gantz, a longtime political rival of Netanyahu’s, joined the government as a show of unity after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel. He left the government earlier this month, citing frustration with Netanyahu’s handling of the war.
Critics say Netanyahu’s wartime decision-making has been influenced by ultranationalists in his government who oppose a deal that would bring about a cease-fire in exchange for the release of hostages. They have voiced support for the “voluntary migration” of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and reoccupying the territory.
Netanyahu denies the accusations and says he has the country’s best interests in mind.
Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 37,100 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count.
Israel launched the war after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killed some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducted about 250.
Currently:
— The war in Gaza is wiping out entire Palestinian families, one branch at a time. This is how
— The war in Gaza has wiped out entire Palestinian families. AP documents 60 who lost dozens or more
— Israel’s army says it will pause daytime fighting along a route in southern Gaza to help flow of aid
— 8 Israeli soldiers killed in southern Gaza in deadliest attack on Israeli forces in months
— US aircraft carrier counters false Houthi claims with ‘Taco Tuesdays’ as deployment stretches on
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Gaza at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Here's the latest:
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli officials say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dissolved the influential War Cabinet that was tasked with steering the war in Gaza.
The War Cabinet was dissolved following the departure from the government of Benny Gantz, an opposition lawmaker who had joined the coalition in the early days of the war. He had demanded that a small Cabinet be formed as a way to sideline far-right lawmakers in Netanyahu’s government. Gantz, Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant were its members and they made key decisions together throughout the war.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the change with the media, said Monday that going forward, Netanyahu would hold smaller forums with some of his government members for sensitive issues.
Gantz, a longtime political rival of Netanyahu’s, joined the government as a show of unity after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel. He left the government earlier this month, citing frustration with Netanyahu’s handling of the war.
Critics say Netanyahu’s wartime decision-making has been influenced by ultranationalists in his government who oppose a deal that would bring about a cease-fire in exchange for the release of hostages. They have voiced support for “voluntary migration” of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and reoccupying the territory.
Netanyahu denies the accusations and says he has the country’s best interests in mind.
Associated Press writer Tia Goldenberg contributed to this report from Tel Aviv, Israel.
VILLEPINTE, France — A major defense and security industry show outside Paris says a French court has banned Israeli exhibitors from participating.
Event organizers said in a press release posted at the entrance of the Eurosatory exhibition, seen Monday by Associated Press journalists, that the court order issued Friday prohibited “the participation of employees or representatives, of any nationality whatsoever, of Israeli companies” in the show.
“In addition, all exhibiting companies are prohibited from receiving, selling or promoting Israeli weapons,” the press release said. It also said exhibitors cannot act as intermediaries at the show for Israeli companies “in any way whatsoever.”
It did not say what motivated the court’s decision. But it said the ruling came on the heels of a French government decision two weeks ago to prohibit Israeli companies from exhibiting at the show “in the current context.”
The event organizers said they’ll appeal the court decision “as soon as possible.” The Eurosatory exhibition, held every two years at Villepinte northeast of Paris, opened Monday and runs to Friday.
JERUSALEM — Israel’s military announced on Sunday that it would pause fighting during daytime hours along a route in southern Gaza to free up a backlog of humanitarian aid deliveries for desperate Palestinians enduring a humanitarian crisis sparked by the war, now in its ninth month.
The “tactical pause,” which applies to about 12 kilometers (7½ miles) of road in the Rafah area, falls far short of a complete cease-fire in the territory that has been sought by the international community, including Israel’s top ally, the United States. It could help address the overwhelming needs of Palestinians that have surged in recent weeks with Israel’s incursion into Rafah.
The army said that the daily pause would begin at 8 a.m. and last until 7 p.m. and continue until further notice. It’s aimed at allowing aid trucks to reach the nearby Israel-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing, the main entry point, and travel safely to the Salah a-Din highway, a main north-south road, the military said. The crossing has had a bottleneck since Israeli ground troops moved into Rafah in early May.
COGAT, the Israeli military body that oversees aid distribution in Gaza, said the route would increase the flow of aid to other parts of Gaza, including Khan Younis, the coastal area of Muwasi and central Gaza. Hard-hit northern Gaza, an early target in the war, is served by goods entering from the north.
FILE - Palestinians inspect the damage of buildings destroyed by Israeli airstrikes on Jabaliya refugee camp on the outskirts of Gaza City on Oct. 31, 2023. Jabaliya refugee camp was one of Gaza’s most densely populated areas and has been struck multiple times since Oct. 7. The true toll remains unknown because many remain under the rubble. (AP Photo/Abdul Qader Sabbah, File)
FILE - A Palestinian child looks at the graves of people killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip and buried inside the Shifa Hospital grounds in Gaza City, Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023. (AP Photo/Mohammed Hajjar, File)
Israeli soldiers carry the flag-draped casket of Capt. Wassem Mahmoud during his funeral in the village of Beit Jann, northern Israel, Sunday, June 16, 2024. Mahmoud, 23, a member of the Druze minority, was killed during Israel's ground operation in the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli army has been battling Palestinian militants in the war ignited by Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Israeli soldiers carry the flag-draped casket of Capt. Wassem Mahmoud during his funeral in the village of Beit Jann, northern Israel, Sunday, June 16, 2024. Mahmoud, 23, a member of the Druze minority, was killed during Israel's ground operation in the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli army has been battling Palestinian militants in the war ignited by Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Protestors gather outside the Eurosatory exhibition, a global event for Defence and Security, in Villepinte, outside Paris, Monday, June 17, 2024. A major defense and security industry show outside Paris says a French court has banned Israeli exhibitors from participating. Banner reads, 'Arms dealers accomplices'. (AP Photo/Masha Macpherson)
Protestors gather outside the Eurosatory exhibition, a global event for Defence and Security, in Villepinte, outside Paris, Monday, June 17, 2024. A major defense and security industry show outside Paris says a French court has banned Israeli exhibitors from participating. (AP Photo/Masha Macpherson)
Palestinians carry a child killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip into a hospital in Deir al Balah on Sunday, June 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians mourn their relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in a hospital in Deir al Balah on Sunday, June 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
