Kara Lawson scored 21 points and Sacramento clinched a playoff spot on Tuesday with a tight 81-79 win over Connecticut.
Sacramento (17-11) led by seven with just over 2:00 to play, and held off a Conneticut charge that was sparked by a technical foul and the ejection of a player's husband from the stands.
Conneticut's Katie Douglas saw her husband escorted from the arena for comments he directed at the referees.
Lindsay Whalen and Jones had 17 each for Conneticut (16-13), who had won 10-of-11 coming into this game.
Mercury 96, Sparks 93
In Los Angeles, Penny Taylor scored 23 points and made two free throws with 11 seconds to play to give Phoenix victory over Los Angeles.
The win saw Phoenix (19-11) move into first place in the WNBA's Western Conference by one game over San Antonio.
Kiesha Brown scored a career-high 18 points for Los Angeles (9-19) who have lost 16 of 20.
Mystics 77, Silver Stars 73
In San Antonio, Alana Beard scored 19 points to help Washington (13-15) improve its playoff chances by downing San Antonio.
Sophia Young scored 26 points for San Antonio.
Washington lost its assists leader Nikki Teasley to a sprained left knee 7:33 into the game.
San Antonio (17-11) clinched a playoff spot in the West last week.
In other games, it was Liberty 77, Comets 71; Fever 75, Sky 70, 2OT; Lynx 95, Storm 95.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and