Sports

Tina Charles has 34 points, 17 rebounds as Mystics take down Sky in OT

Tina Charles had 32 points and 17 rebounds to continue her renaissance season and the Washington Mystics beat the Chicago Sky 89-85 in overtime Saturday night to snap a four-game losing streak.

Washington centre continues renaissance season as team snaps 4-game losing skid

Washington Mystics centre Tina Charles (31) scored a game-high 34 points to help lead her team to a 89-85 overtime win against the Chicago Sky on Saturday night. (@WashMystics/Twitter)

Tina Charles had 32 points and 17 rebounds to continue her renaissance season and the Washington Mystics beat the Chicago Sky 89-85 in overtime Saturday night to snap a four-game losing streak.

Charles, the 2012 WNBA MVP, is having a career year in her 11th season — her first with the Mystics. The five-time first team all-WNBA pick is averaging a career-best and league-leading 25.8 points and 9.6 rebounds while shooting a career-high 36% from 3-point range.

Ariel Atkins added 14 points, Shatori Walker-Kimbrough had 12 and Theresa Plaisance added 10 points and eight rebounds for Washington (8-10). Natasha Cloud tied her career high with 11 assists.

Cloud made a driving layup and then Charles stole a pass from Courtney Vandersloot before hitting a 3-pointer that made it 87-82 with 3:43 left in overtime and the Mystics led the rest of the way.

Stefanie Dolson scored a season-high 20 points and Candace Parker had 17 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks for Chicago (10-10). Allie Quigley was 4 of 8 from 3-point range and finished with 16 points and Courtney Vandersloot added 13 points and 15 assists.

Vandersloot slipped around a screen by Dolson and another by Parker on the sideline and then slipped a bounce pass to a rolling Dolson for a layup that gave the Sky an 82-80 lead with 4.0 seconds left in regulation but, after Atkins missed a potential winning 3-point shot for Washington, Charles' offensive rebound and putback as time expired forced overtime.

Vandersloot has a WNBA-record 65 career games with double-digit assists, breaking Ticha Penichiero's record of 64 set from 1998-2012.

Charles has a league-leading and franchise record eight games this season with 30-plus points. The 32-year old has six career games, including four this season, with at least 30 points and 15 rebounds — a WNBA record. Lauren Jackson is the only other player in league history with multiple 30-15 games in a single season (2010).

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