SEATTLE (AP) — Flau’jae Johnson scored a career-high 28 points, Dominique Malonga became the youngest player in WNBA history to reach 500 career points, and the Seattle Storm snapped an 11-game skid with a 99-88 victory over the New York Liberty on Thursday night.
Johnson, a 22-year-old rookie, led all scorers on 11-for-23 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds.
Malonga had 20 points and 10 rebounds for her second straight double-double. She also became the youngest in league history to reach 200 career defensive rebounds.
Seattle (4-15) jumped out to a 48-40 lead at the half before New York rallied, cutting a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter to eight points with three minutes remaining. Malonga scored six of Seattle’s final 10 points to help seal the win.
Jade Melbourne scored 18, Awa Fam had 15 and Natisha Hiedman — who surpassed 2,000 career points in the win — finished with 11 for Seattle.
Jonquel Jones led the Liberty (12-7) with 26 points, and Leonie Fiebich added 19. Sabrina Ionescu had 14 points and five assists for New York.
Seattle picked up its first win since May 24.
Up next
Liberty: Visit the Golden State Valkyries on Sunday.
Storm: Host the Atlanta Dream on Saturday.
