Lobo’s Free Throws Snap Sting’s String

WNBA

Rebecca Lobo made two free throws with 4.6 seconds left Wednesday night to give the New York Liberty a 65-63 victory over the Charlotte Sting.

The Liberty (13-3), who own the WNBA’s best record, ended Charlotte’s perfect record at home this season by going 9 of 10 from the foul line over the final 3:44.

The Sting (6-7) had won the first six games they played at the Charlotte Coliseum.

Lobo, who finished with 17 points, was fouled by Vicki Bullett and made both ends of a 1-and-1 to break the 63-63 tie. Bullett blocked a shot by Sophia Witherspoon with 5 seconds left before fouling Lobo on the rebound.

After Lobo’s free throws and two 20-second timeouts, Charlotte’s Tora Suber took the inbounds pass. But her driving shot against three taller players clanged against the rim.

Liberty 65, Sting 63

New York (65) - Lobo 5-9 5-6 17, Johnson 2-5 2-2 6, Hampton 1-2 0-0 2, Weatherspoon 2-2 1-2 5, Witherspoon 5-12 4-5 15, Blades 3-3 0-0 8, Trice 1-1 2-2 4, Ford 3-7 0-2 6, Wicks 0-1 0-0 0, Perazic-Gipe 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 23-43 14-19 65.

Charlotte (63) - Bullett 5-13 2-4 12, Congreaves 2-7 0-0 4, Mapp 6-12 4-4 17, Levesque 1-4 2-2 5, Stinson 5-16 2-2 13, Suber 2-6 1-1 6, Manning 3-3 0-0 6, Moore 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-62 11-13 63.

Halftime: New York 33, Charlotte 29. 3-Point goals-New York 5-8 (Blades 2-2, Lobo 2-3, Witherspoon 1-3), Charlotte 4-17 (Mapp 1-1, Suber 1-2, Levesque 1-4, Stinson 1-4, Bullett 0-1, Moore 0-1, Congreaves 0-4). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-New York 28 (Lobo 4), Charlotte 37 (Bullett 11). Assists-New York 18 (Johnson 6), Charlotte 15 (Bullett, Mapp, Levesque, Stinson 3). Total fouls- New York 16, Charlotte 18. A-7,266.

Rockers 89, Sparks 85 Inglewood, Calif.

Isabelle Fijalkowski scored 24 points and Eva Nemcova added 23 as Cleveland withstood a late rally and defeated Los Angeles.

Reserve Merlakia Jones added 16 points, including two free throws in the final 20.7 seconds, as Cleveland (6-8) won its third consecutive game and pulled within a half-game of Charlotte in the race for the WNBA’s final playoff berth.

Lisa Leslie equaled a franchise high with 28 points and Penny Toler scored 18 for Los Angeles (5-10) in front of 6,815 at the Forum.

Cleveland (89) - Nemcova 9-13 4-4 23, Braxton 2-8 1-2 6, Fijalkowski 8-10 8-11 24, Nicholson 0-1 0-0 0, Woodard 3-5 0-1 6, Edwards 2-4 4-6 8, Jones 7-11 2-4 16, Brown 0-1 0-0 0, Johnson 1-1 4-4 6. Totals 32-64 23-32 89.

Los Angeles (85) - Haixia 2-2 0-0 4, Colleton 4-8 1-2 9, Leslie 11-21 4-4 28, Dixon 2-4 0-0 4, Toler 6-13 6-6 18, Wideman 1-2 0-0 2, Mabika 5-7 0-0 11, Burge 1-4 1-2 3, Burgess 2-2 0-0 4, Charles 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 35-65 12-14 85.

Halftime - Cleveland 47, Los Angeles 40. 3-Point goals- Cleveland 2-4 (Nemcova 1-1, Braxton 1-2, Edwards 0-1), Los Angeles 3-10 (Leslie 2-4, Mabika 1-2, Colleton 0-1, Burge 0-1, Toler 0-2). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Cleveland 30 (Braxton 6), Los Angeles 33 (Leslie 13). Assists-Cleveland 22 (Edwards 6), Los Angeles 23 (Wideman 7). Total fouls- Cleveland 16, Los Angeles 24. Technical-Mabika. A-6,815.