Sky ends road slump

From combined dispatches

SKY 99, DREAM 98 (OT): Jia Perkins hit a jumper with 44.4 seconds left to lift Chicago to an overtime win at Atlanta on Tuesday.

Perkins, who shot 9-for-18 from the field, finished with 22 points for the Sky, who avoided opening the season with four straight road losses. Candice Dupree had 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Dominique Canty added 13 points.

Led by rookie Angel McCoughtry, who finished with 26 points and eight assists, the Dream went on a 20-6 run to rally from an 18-point deficit in the fourth quarter. Atlanta took an 85-83 advantage - its first lead of the contest - on Jennifer Lacy’s layup with 1:09 remaining. But two free throws by Perkins sent the game into overtime.

A jumper by Sancho Lyttle, who scored 18 points, gave the Dream a 96-95 lead. Perkins then hit the jumper that put Chicago ahead.

LYNX 69, LIBERTY 57: Candice Wiggins scored 18 of her season-high 25 points in the first half, and Minnesota snapped a two-game slide with a home victory over New York in Minneapolis.

Wiggins paced Minnesota’s 21-2 third-quarter run with seven points and two assists, putting the Lynx up by 21.

Roneeka Hodges added 10 for Minnesota, which played its first home game since leading scorer Seimone Augustus was lost for the season to a torn left ACL.

Shameka Christon had a season-high 25 points, and New York had its two-game winning streak end.

The Liberty trailed by 13 points in the first half and by 11 at halftime, then closed the gap to two with an 8-0 run to start the third quarter. But after going 0-for-7 with four turnovers in the first 4:39 of the third quarter, Minnesota rallied.

Wiggins, who averaged 8.5 points on 30.6 percent shooting in her past four games, scored seven points and Kelly Miller added five during the next 4 1/2 minutes as the Lynx pulled away. Wiggins hit nine of 19 shots from the floor and four 3 pointers. She finished two points shy of tying a career high.

SILVER STARS 91, MERCURY 87: Belinda Snell came off the bench to score 21 points and had four steals, and San Antonio scored the game’s final eight points for a win over Phoenix at home.

Becky Hammon, who returned to San Antonio after playing for the Russian national team in the European Championships final in Latvia, added 19 points after shooting 1-for-7 in the first half.

The Mercury, who did not score in the final 2:43, were led by 26 points from Cappie Pondexter and 22 from Diana Taurasi.

The Silver Stars avoided their worst start since going 0-5 in 2005 and their first three-game losing streak in two seasons.

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