Mapp Leads Way On Road For Charlotte

WNBA

Rhonda Mapp had 15 points and Andrea Stinson 11 for the Charlotte Sting, who blew most of an 11-point lead in the final 2-1/2 minutes before defeating New York 64-61 Saturday at New York.

It was the Liberty’s second consecutive home loss and Charlotte’s first road victory.

The Sting (7-7) salvaged a split of the four-game season series despite committing 28 turnovers in a sloppy game against the league-leading Liberty (13-4).

Sophia Witherspoon led New York with 21 points.

Charlotte took control of the game early as New York missed 14 of its first 15 shots and committed seven turnovers in the first 8 minutes. The Sting led by as many as 18 before New York started to pull back into the game early in the second half.

Sting 64, Liberty 61

At New York

Charlotte (64) - Congreaves 2-7 1-2 7, Bullett 3-7 3-3 9, Mapp 6-7 3-3 15, Levesque 1-3 0-0 3, Stinson 4-10 3-4 11, Manning 4-8 0-2 8, Suber 0-2 2-2 2, Moore 4-5 0-0 9, Artis 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-49 12-16 64.

New York (61) - Lobo 5-15 3-4 14, Johnson 4-17 0-0 9, Hampton 2-8 0-4 4, Weatherspoon 0-1 1-4 1, Witherspoon 8-17 4-4 21, Ford 0-5 0-0 0, Trice 0-0 2-2 2, Blades 1-3 0-2 2, Wicks 3-9 2-3 8. Totals 23-75 12-23 61.

Charlotte 33 31 - 64

New York 19 42 - 61

3-Point goals-Charlotte 4-13 (Congreaves 2-6, Moore 1-1, Levesque 1-3, Bullett 0-1, Stinson 0-1, Suber 0-1), New York 3-14 (Lobo 1-1, Johnson 1-4, Witherspoon 1-4, Weatherspoon 0-1, Ford 0-2, Blades 0-2). Fouled out- None. Rebounds-Charlotte 45 (Bullett, Mapp, Stinson, Manning 8), New York 47 (Lobo 11). Assists-Charlotte 17 (Levesque 5), New York 12 (Weatherspoon 7). Total fouls-Charlotte 18, New York 19. Technical-New York delay of game. A-11,502.

Rockers 77, Starzz 66

Salt Lake City

Rushia Brown came off the bench to score a season-high 17 points for Cleveland.

The last-place Starzz continued to struggle offensively as Cleveland gained a 49-30 halftime lead behind a series of offensive bursts.

The brightest offensive star for the Starzz was Elena Baranova, who led both teams with 26 points. Baranova, a 6-foot-5 center and the league’s leading 3-point shooter, made 4 of 8 from outside the arc.

Cleveland (77) - Nemcova 2-7 2-2 7, Braxton 5-12 4-5 14, Fijalkowski 5-10 5-6 15, Nicholson 2-4 1-1 6, Woodard 3-5 1-2 7, Jones 2-8 2-2 6, Edwards 1-2 2-6 4, Brown 7-11 3-3 17, A.Johnson 0-1 1-2 1, Maxwell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-60 21-29 77.

Utah (66) - Hardmon 1-4 1-2 3, Palmer 7-19 3-7 18, Baranova 8-18 6-10 26, Reiss 1-6 0-0 3, Williams 1-10 0-0 2, Hicks 0-1 0-0 0, Head 4-8 5-5 14, Koss 0-0 0-0 0, Booker 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-66 15-24 66.

Cleveland 49 28 - 77

Utah 30 36 - 66

3-Point goals-Cleveland 2-6 (Nicholson 1-2, Nemcova 1-4), Utah 7-19 (Baranova 4-8, Palmer 1-3, Reiss 1-3, Head 1-3, Hardmon 0-1, Williams 0-1). Fouled out- Fijalkowski, Williams. Rebounds-Cleveland 45 (Fijalkowski 10), Utah 49 (Baranova 9). Assists- Cleveland 15 (Nemcova 4), Utah 13 (Reiss). Total fouls- Cleveland 19, Utah 23. A-7,108.