Tina Charles collected 30 points and 15 rebounds to lift the host Washington Mystics to an 82-77 victory over the reeling Indiana Fever on Saturday.
Charles didn’t miss a beat after missing Washington’s 96-93 victory over the Atlanta Dream on Thursday while attending the premiere of her movie at the Tribeca Film Festival.
The 2012 WNBA MVP added three assists and three steals to torment the Fever for the third time this season. She scored 31 points in Washington’s 89-77 loss to Indiana on May 23 before adding 30 in a 85-69 victory over the Fever two nights later.
Ariel Atkins scored 12 of her 16 points in the fourth quarter for the Mystics (6-6), who overcame an early 12-point deficit to post their fourth win in their last five games. Theresa Plaisance recorded 16 points and 12 rebounds in the win.
All was not rosy for Washington, however, as Natasha Cloud sustained a right ankle sprain in the second quarter. She returned to the sideline on crutches.
Danielle Robinson made eight of 11 shots from the floor to finish with 19 points for the Fever (1-14), who have dropped 10 in a row since defeating the Mystics in the teams’ first meeting. Tiffany Mitchell scored 18 points and Kelsey Mitchell added 13 in the loss.
Atkins split the defence on a layup that gave Washington a 68-67 lead before Plaisance banked home a three-pointer to provide a bit of a cushion. Teaira McCowan’s layup was answered by one each from Atkins and Charles, with the latter converting a three-point play to push the Mystics’ advantage to 76-69 with 2:11 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Jessica Breland made a three-pointer to trim Washington’s lead to 80-76 with 55 seconds left. Atkins, however, reeled in an offensive rebound and sank a pair of free throws to essentially seal the win.
Indiana held a 31-19 advantage before Washington scored 16 straight points and 27 of the next 35. Charles scored seven points during the 16-0 run, including a three-point play that gave the Mystics their first lead of the game at 33-31, with 4:39 to play in the second quarter.