Charles, Mystics end Storm’s run
EVERETT, Washington, June 23, (AP): Tina Charles had 34 points, 16 rebounds and five assists, and the short-handed Washington Mystics made 16 3-pointers in an 87-83 victory over the Seattle Storm.
Charles rebounded a miss by Breanna Stewart and got it to Leilani Mitchell, who made two free throws with 4.3 seconds left for a four-point advantage. After a timeout, Seattle was off on a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Charles, who finished two points shy of tying a career high, became the first player in WNBA history with 30-plus points and 15-plus rebounds in back-to-back games. Charles also passed Lisa Leslie for eighth on the league’s career scoring list.
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Mitchell finished with 19 points and seven assists for Washington (76), which won its third straight. Ariel Atkins and Theresa Plaisance each added 10 points. Washington only had eight healthy players because of a wave of injuries. They were missing Natasha Cloud and Myisha Hines-Allen - the latest two to get injured last week.
They still had Charles though, who has had a stellar first season with Washington. She had 17 points and five rebounds in the first half to help Washington build a 43-36 lead. She added 12 points in the third quarter, making all five of her shots.
Jewell Loyd led Seattle (12-3) with 23 points and nine assists. Stewart had 17 points and eight rebounds and Mercedes Russell and Candice Dupree each scored 10 for the Storm, who had their five-game winning streak snapped.
Dupree moved into fourth on the WNBA career scoring list, passing Cappie Pondexter, and Loyd reached 3,000 career points.
Sun 80, Wings 70
In Uncasville, Conn., Brionna Jones had a career-high 26 points, DeWanna Bonner scored 14 of her 25 points in the third quarter, and the Connecticut Sun beat the Dallas Wings 80-70 to snap a three-game losing streak.
Connecticut (9-5) won for the first time this season without Jonquel Jones, who is playing for Bosnia and Herzegovina in the FIBA European Championships.
Bonner also had 13 rebounds and six assists. Kaila Charles recorded her first double-double with 12 points and a career-high 12 rebounds, and Jasmine Thomas scored 11 for the Sun.