Tina Charles lifts Connecticut Sun to a 75-70 win over Seattle Storm – WNBA Recap
Tina Charles pounded her sixth consecutive double-double with a team-high 20 points and 10 rebounds as Connecticut Sun downed the Seattle Storm 75-70 on Friday night at Mohegan Sun Arena.
The 22-year-old centre, who is averaging 19.8 points and 10.9 rebounds per game so far this season, also dished out four assists and shot 9 for 17 from the field.
Kara Lawson also stuffed the stat sheet. Her 16 points, seven assists and four rebounds came in 31 minutes of action. Lawson also nailed 3 of 5 three-pointers in the second consecutive victory of Connecticut. Renee Montgomery was the third leading scorer in the victory with 11 points and eight assists.
Swin Cash had a game-high 25 points and nine rebounds for Seattle, who saw their two-game winning streak nipped. Cash hit a perfect 12 for 12 from free throw line. Forwards Camille Little and Lecoe Willingham added 10 points apiece while Little also grabbed seven rebounds in the loss.
Seattle played their second consecutive game of the season without their leading scorer and rebounder Lauren Jackson, who is out for approximately 8-12 weeks with a torn labrum in her hip. The three-time MVP was hurt late in the second quarter because of her inadvertent collision with Liz Cambage in Sun’s game against the Tulsa Shock.
First Quarter
The Sun opened the first quarter on a 5-0 run and widened their lead to 11-4 with 06:15 to go in the quarter. Seattle answered with seven consecutive points to knot the game at 11-11. Montgomery’s floating jump shot on the next possession put Connecticut ahead by two points but Cash slipped in a pair of free throws at the other end to tie the game for the second time in the quarter, 13-13.
The quarter though went in Connecticut’s favour as Charles drove to the rim and Danielle McCray hit a three in the last 30 seconds to give Sun an 18-13 lead, going into the second.
Second Quarter
Seattle were able to keep the game close in the first five minutes of the second quarter but Sun broke through midway and Kalana Greene’s three-pointer with 02:35 left in the half expanded the Connecticut’s advantage to 13 points, 36-23.The game ensued on even terms, but Lawson nailed a 3-pointer with just eight ticks to go in the second period to give the Sun a 12-point edge, 45-33, at halftime.
Seattle coach Brian Agler acknowledged the brilliant performance of the opponent team during the first two quarters of the game and said, "They did a good job defensively in the first half against us and we got stagnant.” "We didn't play the game as well as we could have. They were scoring off their defence a few times.”
Third Quarter
Seattle made a marginal comeback in the third quarter and outscored the hosts 18-14 but they still trailed 59-51, entering the final stanza.
Fourth Quarter
Seattle stepped up their effort big time in the fourth quarter and managed to cut the deficit to just two points, 72-70 with 08.7 seconds left in the game. Connecticut however, responded with three consecutive points in the last eight seconds and walked off their home court with a 75-70 victory.
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