Charles’ 34 points, 16 rebounds help snap Storm’s win streak
Jun 22, 2021, 9:21 AM | Updated: 9:32 pm
EVERETT, Wash. (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 on Tuesday night.
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.
Mitchell finished with 19 points and seven assists for Washington (7-6), 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.
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