Monarchs 87, Mystics 81
Associated Press
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
SACRAMENTO, July 1 -- Ticha Penicheiro scored 17 points and had eight assists Tuesday night, helping the Sacramento Monarchs hold off the Washington Mystics for a 87-81 victory.
Penicheiro made two huge baskets down the stretch. After Monique Currie made a three-pointer from the corner to tie the game at 75 with 1 minute 43 seconds left, Penicheiro put the Monarchs ahead for good with twisting drive to the basket.
After a 24-second violation by Washington, Penicheiro made a clutch 13-footer in the lane for a 79-75 lead with 44 seconds remaining.
Kara Lawson scored 13 points for Monarchs, and Rebekkah Brunson and Scholanda Robinson both had 12 points.
Alana Beard scored 31 points for the Mystics (6-10), Currie had 17 points and seven assists and Nakia Stanford added 10 points.
The victory was the second straight for Sacramento and completes another two-game sweep of the Mystics, who have lost eight straight to the Monarchs dating from September 2004.
The win gave the Monarchs (8-8) a sweep of their brief homestand and got them out of a last-place tie in the Western Conference with Houston, which lost to Connecticut.
Washington, which was coming off its lowest-scoring game of the season in a 64-49 loss Sunday in Seattle, has lost two straight and three of four.
The Monarchs quickly took control of the game to start the third period. Adrian Williams-Strong scored six points and Lawson added five during a 14-2 run that gave Sacramento an 11-point lead midway through the quarter. The Monarchs led 64-58 heading into the fourth.
Despite being outplayed in the second quarter, the Monarchs managed to take a 44-43 lead into halftime. Brunson and Robinson scored 10 points for Sacramento, while Beard had 13 for Washington.
Brunson helped the Monarchs get off to a quick start in the opening quarter. She made all four shots and had eight points and four rebounds as Sacramento took a 24-17 lead.
· LIBERTY 89, SPARKS 78: Shameka Christon scored a career-high 28 points as visiting New York rallied for a victory over Los Angeles.
Janel McCarville added 15 points and tied a season best with eight rebounds for the Liberty (8-7). Cathrine Kraayeveld had 14 points, Leilani Mitchell scored 13 points and Loree Moore tied a career high with nine assists.
· MERCURY 97, DREAM 79: Phoenix Coach Corey Gaines knew that Atlanta couldn't keep up with her fast-breaking Mercury.
"They don't run that way every day like we do," he said. "We practice that way. I knew they would drop off and hit a brick wall sooner or later, because we run on every possession."
Diana Taurasi scored 28 points and the Mercury used a strong second quarter to beat the winless Dream in Atlanta.
· SUN 78, COMETS 68: Lindsay Whalen had nine assists to set Connecticut's career record and scored 14 points to help overcome a 14-point deficit to beat Houston at home.
Asjha Jones had 15 points and eight rebounds to lead the Sun (13-5), who maintained the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
· SKY 73, LYNX 71: In Minneapolis, Candice Dupree had 26 points and 10 rebounds to lead Chicago past Minnesota.
Jia Perkins had 20 points and made a crucial late three-pointer for the Sky, which has won consecutive games after a five-game losing streak. Chasity Melvin added with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
· SILVER STARS 79, SHOCK 72: Becky Hammon had 19 points, 10 in overtime, and Sophia Young added 27 to lead San Antonio, at home, over Detroit. Ann Wauters also added 17 points with nine rebounds, in the second overtime game for the Silver Stars in a week.
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