COLLEGE PARK, Ga. — Tina Charles moved into second place all-time in WNBA scoring after she had 12 points and 17 rebounds, and the Atlanta Dream beat the Phoenix Mercury 72-63 on Wednesday night.
Alicia Gray scored 21 points and Ryan Howard added 19 to lead the Dream (10-17), who won their third straight game, their best of the season after entering the Olympic hiatus with eight straight losses.
Charles, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 draft out of Connecticut, opened the scoring in the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer from the top of the lane, moving past Tina Thompson’s 7,488 points. Charles, who has 7,491 points, is more than 3,000 points behind Diana Taurasi (10,500), who hit just one 3-pointer late in the game.
Charles’ basket broke a 48-48 tie and started a 17-2 run that broke the game. Reserve Maya Caldwell scored all six of her points after three from Charles.
Gray hit two free throws to make it 65-50 with 5:26 left. When they beat the Suns on Sunday, the Dream opened the fourth quarter with a 19-2 run.
Charles now has 184 career double-doubles, just 10 minutes away from passing Sylvia Fowles for the most in league history. It was also her 38th career game in which she collected 15 rebounds, the second-highest total in WNBA history behind Fowles (43).
Kahleigh Cooper led the Mercury (15-14) with 22 points, while Brittney Griner had 14. The Mercury outrebounded the ball 47-33, including a 16-3 run on offense.
Atlanta held Phoenix to 15 shots and committed five fouls in the first quarter to take a 19-6 lead.
The Dream failed to score in the second quarter, missing its first 11 attempts. Cooper hit back-to-back baskets to give Phoenix a 25-24 lead. Gray then hit two three-pointers, and Howard hit another three-pointer to help the Dream take a 34-26 lead into the break.
Atlanta’s winning streak came against Seattle, Connecticut and the Mercury, teams with winning records and a playoff spot. Atlanta is now one game out of the final playoff spot and will host Phoenix again on Friday.
This report was based on information from the Associated Press.
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