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CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Ticker) -- Michael Cooper's wishes for an unbeaten season were dashed by the Charlotte Sting. Dawn Staley scored five points and added three assists in overtime as the Sting held on for a 94-87 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks in a rematch of last season's WNBA championship series. Cooper, the Sparks coach, proclaimed before the year that his goal for the team was a 32-0 season after finishing 28-4 the past two campaigns. The Sparks opened the season with three victories before running into the team they swept for their first title a year ago. Tammy Sutton-Brown's basket 55 seconds into the extra session gave Charlotte the lead for good at 82-80 and Staley extended the lead to five with a 3-pointer with just over three minutes left. A layup by Mwadi Mabika cut the Sting's lead to 88-86 with 1:48 remaining before Staley fed Sutton-Brown for a layup 28 seconds later. Charlotte Smith added two foul shots with 55 seconds left for a six-point cushion. Kelly Miller scored 23 points and helped lead a 3-point assault for Charlotte by making all four attempts. The Sting made a franchise record 12 3-pointers on 21 shots as Allison Feaster sank 5-of-6 for 15 points. Staley finished with 19 points and dominated her matchup with Sparks rookie point guard Nikki Teasley, who played collegiately at North Carolina. Lisa Leslie collected 26 points and 12 rebounds while Latasha Byears added 15 and eight but both players fouled out in overtime. Leslie and Staley each had chances to win the game in the final 30 seconds of regulation but failed to come through. |
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