Key defensive stops lead Charlotte past Seattle

All the lectures about focusing on defense are paying off for the Charlotte Sting.

The Sting used several stops down the stretch and held the top offensive team in the WNBA below its scoring average in a 70-67 victory over the Seattle Storm Thursday night in Charlotte, N.C.

“Seattle was the best offensive team, so we wanted to shorten the game and force them into a halfcourt game,” said Charlotte coach Trudi Lacey, who has made solid defense the focal point of her team.

“When we do that, we’re pretty successful.”

Tynesha Lewis scored a career-high 19 points and Tammy Sutton-Brown had a big block in the final seconds to help Charlotte pull within one-half game of Eastern Conference-leading Connecticut.

Lauren Jackson, the reigning league MVP, scored 24 points for Seattle.

Mystics 71, Liberty 54: Chamique Holdsclaw had 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead Washington to its third straight victory, a win over the depleted Liberty in New York.

Rookie Alana Beard added 11 points for Washington, which improved to .500 (8-8) for the first time since it was 1-1 on May 23.

Fever 58, Lynx 56: Stephanie White made two free throws with 1.3 seconds remaining to give Indiana a win over visiting Minnesota.

Tamika Catchings led a balanced scoring attack for Indiana with 17 points, while Deanna Jackson added 13 and Natalie Williams 12.