UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) Tina Charles had 22 points and 12 rebounds as the Connecticut Sun rallied from 16 points down and then held on to beat the Indiana Fever 70-64 on Thursday night.
Allison Hightower had 12 points, four rebounds and four assists for last-place Connecticut (5-12), which pulled to 2 1/2 games behind the Fever for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Mistie Bass also had 12 points and four rebounds, and Tan White scored 10 points.
Trailing 52-36 with 1:35 left in the third quarter, the Sun used an 18-2 run to tie the score.
Bass’ hook shot with 50.6 seconds left gave Connecticut, playing for the first time since the All-Star break, a 63-62 lead. The Sun made seven free throws in the final 38.1 seconds, including two each by Hightower and White after Jessica Breland made two to pull the Fever to 66-64 with about 20 seconds to go.
“It’s a new season,” Bass said. “We came into the second half (of the season) with a new mindset that we have a chance to get in the playoffs and it’s got to start today. And all of the sudden, you look up at the scoreboard and it’s 50-34 (Indiana).
“All you can do is say, `not again.’ You’ve got to dig deep somewhere inside yourself and find a way as an individual to do as much as you can, and I thought like everyone did that and we came together.”
Shavonte Zellous had 20 points and Breland added 17 points and seven rebounds for Indiana (8-10).
The Fever had only eight players in uniform, with All-Star Tamika Catchings (personal reasons) among those missing.
Still, Indiana led for most of the game. It ended the first half with an 11-0 run to take a 34-25 lead at the break and didn’t trail again until the final minute.
“We just didn’t execute when the game was on the line,” Zellous said. “Crunch time, I think we turned the ball over a couple of times. Then on defense, we didn’t pay attention to our defensive assignments and it led to a couple of open shots and offensive rebounds. That’s the ball game.”
In addition to Catchings, Indiana was without Jessica Davenport (out for the season with a stress fracture in her left leg), Katie Douglas (back), Erin Phillips (right knee) and Jenette Pohlen (torn left ACL).
Two jumpers by Zellous, sandwiched between a layup by Karima Christmas, gave the Fever their 16-point lead late in the third quarter.
Bass’s layup and a 3-pointer by White cut the Sun’s deficit to 52-41 heading to the fourth.
Connecticut continued its run to start the final period. Charles’ layup cut the Sun’s deficit to 52-51 with over 7 minutes left.
Breland hit a short jumper on the other end to push Indiana ahead by three points.
White answered with a 3-pointer to tie the score at 54-all with 6:16 left.
“It was a great second half,” Sun coach Anne Donovan said. “Tan and Mistie did a great job off the bench. Kelly (Faris) too.”
“Tan hit huge shots. Alley came alive in the fourth quarter. Kelly was definitely a presence, so I would say it was a collection of people (who sparked the comeback).”
Johnson, Thompson lead Storm past Mercury, 88-79
SEATTLE (AP) Temeka Johnson and Tina Thompson each scored 16 points and the Seattle Storm used a big third quarter to beat the Phoenix Mercury 88-79 on Thursday night.
The 38-year-old Thompson, who is retiring after this season, shot 5 for 11 from the field and had seven rebounds to help the Storm (8-10) beat the Mercury for the 14th time in the last 16 meetings.
“I’ve played better in my career, that’s for sure,” said Thompson, who is the only player to have appeared in each of the league’s 17 seasons. “But I guess I’m playing good for a 38-year old. But, no, I’m not coming back for another year. No second thoughts.”
Tanisha Wright added 14 points and seven assists, while Tianna Hawkins had 13 points as Seattle rallied from a 13-point deficit in the first half. Johnson also had seven assists.
Seattle shot 11 for 26 (42 percent) on 3-pointers while outscoring Phoenix 33-9 from beyond the arc.
“When we move the ball and get open shots and make the defense work,” Thompson said, “that’s when we’re at our best.”
DeWanna Bonner had 19 points and nine rebounds and Candice Dupree added 16 points and 10 boards to lead the Mercury (9-10). Rookie Brittney Griner scored 11 points for Phoenix, which lost its third straight.
Diana Taurasi finished with 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting before fouling out with 2:59 remaining for the Mercury. Taurasi picked up her final three fouls in a span of 35 seconds.
“They were all good calls,” she said with a shrug.
The Storm missed their first six shots of the game, fell behind 7-0 and eventually trailed by double digits before using 7-of-15 shooting on 3s to pull within three at halftime.
Seattle then outscored Phoenix 28-16 in the third – including an 8-0 run – to take control.
The Storm didn’t take their first lead until 2 1/2 minutes into the second half, when Shekinna Stricklen’s 3-pointer from the wing put them ahead 48-46.
Thompson scored 10 of her 16 points in the second quarter.
Griner was back on the court after missing the Mercury’s last five games before the All-Star break due to a sprained left knee. She was limited to just four minutes per quarter.
“We were playing well and I had to take (Brittney) out of the game,” Mercury coach Corey Gaines said. “She had four blocked shots in (17) minutes. … We play them again next week so maybe Brittney gets to play six minutes per quarter that game.”
WNBA Roundup: Charles’ double-double leads Sun past Fever, 70-64 is a post from: PhatzRadio.com
