Maya Moore picked up her third straight All-Star MVP, leading Team Parker to a win in front of her home Minnesota crowd.
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Lynx star Maya Moore won her third straight All-Star MVP award to lead Team Parker past Team Delle Donne 119-112 in the WNBA All-Star Game on Saturday.
Moore scored 18 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and dished out six assists to win the MVP award on her home court. She joined Lisa Leslie as the only three-time MVP of the game and became the all-time scoring leader in All-Star history, passing Tamika Catchings’ mark of 108 points.
Allie Quigley of the Chicago Sky also scored 18 points, and Skylar Diggins-Smith added 17 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists for Team Parker.
Team Delle Donne’s Kristi Tolliver of the Washington Mystics led all scorers with 23 points, including 7-for-11 shooting on 3-pointers. Rookie A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces added 18 points.
Liz Cambage capped off the game with a dunk, becoming the sixth different player to do it in the All-Star Game.
Eschewing the traditional East vs. West format for the first time, the league let captains Elena Delle Donne of the Mystics and Candace Parker of the Los Angeles Sparks choose up sides from a pool of the top players in All-Star voting. That allowed for the rosters to be heavily dominated (16 of the 22 players) by the Western Conference, home of six of the top seven teams in the league standings.
Four players from the hometown Minnesota Lynx were selected for the game, two on each roster, creating a festive atmosphere with the crowd cheering loudly for both sides throughout the game. Moore and Rebekkah Brunson (four points, five rebounds) played for the winning side, while Seimone Augustus (14 points) and Sylvia Fowles (two points, six rebounds) played for Team Delle Donne.
PASSING THE TORCH
The second quarter began with the league’s career leaders in scoring (Diana Taurasi), rebounding (Brunson) and assists (Sue Bird) on the floor. But youth was served with Wilson scoring eight straight points for Team Della Donne. Wilson, the No. 1 overall pick out of South Carolina, was the only rookie selected for the game and scored 12 points in the second quarter to lead all scorers at halftime.
The 2019 WNBA All-Star Game will be hosted by the Las Vegas Aces, who are playing their inaugural season after moving from San Antonio after last season.
VIVA LAS VEGAS
WNBA president Lisa Borders announced that the 2019 All-Star Game will be played in Las Vegas, home of the Aces, who relocated from San Antonio after last season. The Aces, who were represented by Wilson and guard Kayla McBride, reached the All-Star break only 1 1/2 games out of the final playoff spot.
DEFENDING THE CROWN
Quigley beat a field of six participants to win her second straight WNBA 3-point contest. After she and McBride tied with 18 in the head-to-head finals, Quigley caught fire in a redo, scoring 29 of a possible 34 points.
