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 at Wintrust Arena 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 the Mystics (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 minutes, 43 seconds 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 the Sky (10-10), who lost for the third time in four games. Allie Quigley was 4 of 8 from 3-point range and finished with 16 points and Vandersloot added 13 points and 15 assists.
Vandersloot slipped around a screen from Dolson and another from 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 four seconds left in regulation, but after Atkins missed a potential winning 3-point shot for the Mystics, Charles’ offensive rebound and putback as time expired forced overtime.
Vandersloot has 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, a franchise record. 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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