Tina Charles ties WNBA’s double-double record as Connecticut Sun beat Chicago Sky 69-58
On Tuesday night, Tina Charles recorded her seventh straight double-double with a team-high 16 points and 11 rebounds as Connecticut Sun beat Chicago Sky 69-58 at Mohegan Sun Arena for their second consecutive victory. It was Chicago’s sixth defeat in their previous ten games.
Another maverick performance by Charles on the night tied her with Seattle Storm’s forward centre Lauren Jackson for WNBA’s record of consecutive double-doubles. Jackson set the record in 2003.
“I am honoured to be mentioned with her,” Charles said after the game.
Kara Lawson came off the bench with 14 points, six rebounds and four assists while Asjha Jones had 12 points, five rebounds and two steals in the victory. Lawson hit 5 for 9 from the floor, including 2 for 5 beyond the arc. Renee Montgomery ended with 10 points and three steals for Sun, who are second in the Eastern Conference with a 14-7 record.
Sylvia Fowles once again led Chicago with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Fowles went 6 for 15 from the field and 7 for 12 from free throw line. Eshaya Murphy added 18 points, four steals and four rebounds while Tamera Young totalled a game best 15 rebounds and 10 points in the loss.
Connecticut shot 36.2 percent (25 for 69) from the field and 81 percent (17 for 21) from free throw line. However, Sky shot only 27.5 percent (19 for 69) from the floor and 70.8 percent (17 for 24) from the line. Sun dished out 14 assists as compared to just nine by the visiting team.
Both teams could not score even a single point in the first two minutes of the opening period. Chicago were the first to get on the score sheet and by the time the first quarter ended they were leading the Sun 21-17.
Connecticut showed up with a different intensity in the second quarter. They played a hard defense and limited the Sky to just seven points to take a 39-28 lead into the locker room. Trailing by 11 points at halftime, Chicago trimmed the deficit to six, 46-40, with 02:34 to go in the third. Connecticut however bounced back with a 9-1 spurt and stretched their lead to 55-41, heading into the fourth.
Sky fought back in the fourth and cut Connecticut’s lead to six with 40 seconds on the clock before Sun scored five consecutive points down the stretch to seal the victory.
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