Brunson guides Monarchs to win

MONARCHS 90, SILVER STARS 73: Rebekkah Brunson had 19 points and nine rebounds, leading Sacramento to a victory at San Antonio on Tuesday night.

Nicole Powell added 17 points for the Monarchs (6-17). Scholanda Robinson scored 13 points, and Kara Lawson had 12. Ticha Penicheiro added 11 assists.

Brunson, who returned to the lineup Saturday after missing the previous seven games with a right knee strain, went 8-for-10 as Sacramento shot 56 percent from the field.

Sophia Young scored 14 points and Vickie Johnson had 12 to lead the Silver Stars (10-12), who have lost four of their last six and squandered a chance to move into a tie with Minnesota for third place in the Western Conference.

Becky Hammon, the league’s leading scorer who had 38 points against the Monarchs the last time the teams played, managed only 11 points this time on 3-for-10 shooting.

The Monarchs limited San Antonio to 4-for-15 shooting in the second quarter and led by as many as eight. Brunson hit just as many shots as the Silver Stars in the quarter, going 4-for-5 and scoring 10 points to give Sacramento a 40-32 lead with 3:02 left in the first half.

LIBERTY 65, SPARKS 61: Shameka Christon scored 11 points, Loree Moore added 10 and New York rallied in the second half for a victory over turnover-prone Los Angeles on the road.

The Sparks’ two-game winning streak ended a night after beating Indiana, the best team in the league. Lisa Leslie became the first WNBA player to score 6,000 career points in that win, and she followed it up with 12 points against the Liberty.

New York ended its longest road trip of the season with a 2-3 record. The Liberty, last in the Eastern Conference, improved to 4-8 on the road and split the season series.

Candace Parker scored all of her 11 points in the second half and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Sparks, who committed 18 turnovers.