Stinson’s League-High 29 Leads To Charlotte Win

WNBA

Andrea Stinson, playing with a stomach virus, scored 29 points - an individual high this season in the Women’s National Basketball Association - as the Charlotte Sting rallied for an 87-69 victory over the New York Liberty on Wednesday in Charlotte, N.C.

New York lost its second straight road game after starting the season 7-0, while the Sting moved to 3-4 with all three wins coming at the Charlotte Coliseum.

Stinson, the 1991 national college player of the year at North Carolina State, was 11 for 16 from the field and received a standing ovation from the crowd of 8,913 when she left the game with 16.4 seconds left. The 5-foot-10 guard also grabbed nine rebounds, had six assists and five steals despite coming down with the flu at halftime.

The previous individual high in the WNBA’s inaugural season was 28 points by Utah’s Wendy Palmer on June 23 against Los Angeles, and by Haixa Zheng of Los Angeles four days later against Sacramento.

Vickie Johnson led New York with 14 points.

Sting 87, Liberty 69

At Charlotte, N.C.

New York (69) - Johnson 5-11 3-3 14, Lobo 4-14 3-6 13, Hampton 3-6 2-5 8, Weatherspoon 4-7 2-3 10, Witherspoon 4-12 3-3 13, Wicks 1-5 2-2 5, Blades 1-3 0-0 2, Ford 0-0 0-0 0, Trice 2-3 0-2 4. Totals 24-61 15-24 69.

Charlotte (87) - Bullett 2-11 2-2 6, Moore 3-11 4-5 10, Manning 2-6 1-2 5, Levesque 2-5 0-0 5, Stinson 11-16 5-10 29, Congreaves 2-4 5-5 9, Mapp 4-7 2-2 10, Williams 1-2 0-0 2, Suber 2-5 3-8 9, Artis 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 30-68 22-34 87.

New York 36 33 - 69

Charlotte 32 55 - 87

3-Point goals-New York 6-17 (Lobo 2-5, Witherspoon 2-5, Wicks 1-2, Johnson 1-3, Weatherspoon 0-1, Blades 0-1), Charlotte 5-12 (Suber 2-3, Stinson 2-5, Levesque 1-4). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-New York 44 (Lobo 8), Charlotte 52 (Stinson 9). Assists-New York 17 (Weatherspoon 7), Charlotte 19 (Stinson 6). Total fouls-New York 23, Charlotte 19. A-8,913.

Mercury 69, Comets 64

Phoenix

Jennifer Gillom scored 20 points and the Phoenix Mercury survived a late Houston comeback to beat the Comets.

It was the third consecutive victory for Phoenix (5-2), which was also helped by Bridget Pettis’ 12 points and Marlies Askamp’s eight points and 10 rebounds.

Houston (64) - Arcain 3-5 5-5 12, Thompson 4-14 2-2 10, Guyton 0-2 3-4 3, Perrot 2-9 0-0 5, Cooper 5-12 5-6 16, Ta.Jackson 2-6 0-0 4, Harris 2-2 2-2 7, Moore 0-1 2-4 2, Woosley 2-5 0-0 5. Totals 20-56 19-23 64.

Phoenix (69) - Foster 2-2 0-0 4, Webb 4-8 1-1 9, Gillom 5-12 10-12 20, Timms 3-8 1-2 8, Pettis 3-14 5-5 12, Askamp 4-6 0-0 8, Ti.Jackson 0-2 3-4 3, Lieberman-Cline 0-4 2-2 2, Ambers 1-1 1-3 3. Totals 22-57 23-29 69.

Houston 20 44 - 64

Phoenix 39 30 - 69

3-Point goals-Houston 5-17 (Arcain 1-1, Harris 1-1, Woosley 1-3, Cooper 1-4, Perrot 1-6, Thompson 0-2), Phoenix 2-13 (Timms 1-4, Pettis 1-5, Lieberman-Cline 0-1, Gillom 0-3). Fouled out-Webb. Rebounds- Houston 38 (Thompson 7), Phoenix 43 (Askamp 10). Assists-Houston 9 (Perrot 4), Phoenix 18 (Webb 7). Total fouls-Houston 24, Phoenix 22. Technicals- Pettis. A-11,892.