Tina Charles scored 11 of her 29 points in the fourth quarter and Jacy Sheldon added 16 points as the Connecticut Sun ended a franchise-worst 10-game losing streak with a 93-83 win over the visiting Seattle Storm on Wednesday afternoon at Uncasville, Conn.
Bria Hartley scored 15 points and Saniya Rivers added 11 points with seven assists as the Sun (3-16) won for the first time since June 6 at Atlanta. Charles had a team-high 11 rebounds.
Connecticut’s victory came without leading scorer Marina Mabrey, who missed her sixth consecutive game with a knee injury.
Skylar Diggins scored 23 points with seven assists and Gabby Williams added 21 points for the Storm, who went 2-2 on a four-game road trip. Ezi MagBegor scored 13 points, while Nneka Ogwumike added 12 points and 12 rebounds for Seattle (12-8).
Trailing throughout the first three quarters, the Sun tied the score 77-77 with 6:21 remaining on a jumper from Sheldon. Connecticut then took control with a 16-4 spurt for a 93-81 lead on two free throws from Leila Lacan with 1:03 left.
The Sun had a 27-9 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter while shooting 58.8 percent from the floor, while holding the Storm to 21.4 percent over the final 10 minutes.
After trailing by as many 14 points in the first half, the Sun went on a 10-2 run in the third quarter to pull into a 57-57 tie after a three-point play by Rivers. A 5-0 run to close the third gave Storm a 74-66 lead.
Seattle opened an early 17-6 lead and was up 27-18 after one quarter. The Sun trimmed the deficit to 49-41 at halftime, with Connecticut’s Hartley leading all scorers with 15 points. Williams led four Storm scorers in double figures at the half with 12 points.
–Field Level Media
