Mystics Lose Eighth Straight

Sue Bird has 21 points and 10 assists against Chamique Holdsclaw and the Mystics in Seattle's 76-72 victory. (John Froschauer - AP)

SEATTLE, July 3 -- Chamique Holdsclaw started for the second straight game and showed her old form tonight for the Washington Mystics, scoring 21 points and grabbing 10 rebounds against the Seattle Storm. That would be the good news. The bad news: It wasn't enough, as the Mystics blew a big first-half lead and suffered their eighth straight loss, 76-72.

Questions concerning the health of Holdsclaw's ailing right hamstring have defined much of the Mystics' season. The all-star has played in only six games for Washington (2-11).

Holdsclaw, who returned Wednesday and scored 11 points in a loss at Sacramento, took the game's opening tip and raced to the basket for an uncontested layup. She played well throughout, proving the hamstring may be fine.

"I'm hurting for them right now, because we were right there, knocking on the door," Washington Coach Marianne Stanley said. "My team was hungry. They played hard. It was obvious they really wanted to win."

Seattle, paced by 25 points from Lauren Jackson, pushed its record to 9-6, second in the Western Conference. The Mystics finished second in the East last season and appeared to have turned a corner after the franchise's early futility. Now, they appear to have regressed.

The game was tight to the end, as Washington trailed 72-70 and had the ball with just over a minute to play. But Asjha Jones missed a baseline jumper, and Seattle guard Sue Bird (21 points, 10 assists) grabbed the rebound. Bird was fouled, made two free throws, then Holdsclaw answered right back.

The Storm then got the ball to Bird, who was fouled again and made both free throws to seal it.

The Mystics broke out to a 20-11 lead midway through the first half. Coco Miller led the charge with 13 first-half points. She finished with 20.

But Seattle used a 6-0 run to shrink Washington's lead to 37-32 at halftime.

Holdsclaw said the hamstring did bother her a little -- not nearly as much as the loss, however.

"Right now our backs are against the wall and we've got to dig out of a hole," Holdsclaw said. "We have nothing to lose. We just need to come out and play with energy."

• STING 92, SHOCK 79: Shalonda Enis scored 29 points, nine more than her previous career best, and Allison Feaster added 23 as Charlotte notched a road victory.

"That feels really good, especially because I feel like I have been struggling lately," said Enis, who hadn't scored more than 12 points this season. "We are the number one and number two teams in the East. . . . It feels great to win a game like this."

The Sting (9-6) hit a team-record 13 three-pointers, narrowly missing the league record of 14 set by Minnesota in 1999 and tied by Sacramento in 2001.

"When we are on, we are a pretty good three-point-shooting team," Charlotte Coach Trudi Lacey said. "Ever since Shalonda has been inserted into the starting lineup, she's been a lot better. She did a really good job tonight."

Enis sank all five of her three-pointers while Feaster made five of nine. Charlotte hit 65 percent of its three-point attempts while Detroit hit just 61.8 percent from the free-throw line.

"Give them credit -- they just shot dramatically well tonight," Shock Coach Bill Laimbeer said. "They were hitting deep three-pointers with us right on them. Those weren't easy shots."

Cheryl Ford led Detroit (9-3) with a career-high 19 points and 12 rebounds. Swin Cash added 17 points.

The Sting won its fifth straight in Detroit.