WASHINGTON (AP) — Tina Charles scored 34 points against her former team, Ariel Atkins added 25 points and the Washington Mystics beat the New York Liberty 101-72 on Friday night.
Charles, who played for New York from 2014-19, made four 3-pointers and finished two points shy of matching her career high. Atkins added five 3-pointers and the Mystics were 16 of 31 from distance.
Shavonte Zellous scored 11 points off the bench and Natasha Cloud had eight assists for Washington (1-2), which scored 23 points off turnovers. Charles also grabbed nine rebounds and Erica McCall had 13.
Atkins made all three of her 3-point attempts in the first quarter to help Washington build a 29-15 lead. Charles had 18 points and seven rebounds in the first half, and Atkins added 17 points for a 52-46 advantage.
Sydney Wiese made a step-back 3-pointer, capping Washington’s 15-5 run to open the third quarter, for a 67-51 lead. The Mystics opened the fourth on a 14-0 run to seal it.
Betnijah Laney led New York (3-1) with 20 points. Kylee Shook scored 11 points and Sabrina Ionescu added 10.
Laney scored 16 of her 18 first-half points in the second quarter.
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