CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- There was a time this season when the
Charlotte Sting were the worst team in the league. With a 54-49
victory over the Houston Comets on Saturday night, they proved how
long ago that was.
The win snapped Charlotte's eight-game losing streak to the
Comets and, after starting the season 1-10, improved them to 14-14
-- marking the first time they've been at .500 since 1999.
"It's a darn good feeling," first-year coach Anne Donovan
said. "When we were 1-10, we felt that as long as we're still
confident we could stay positive. We still knew we had a deep hole
to dig out of, so to be here, .500 is just awesome."
The Sting now stand two games from clinching the fourth
and final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference and believe few
teams in the league want to face them now.
"I think everybody is kind of guessing about Charlotte right
now," guard Andrea Stinson said. "No one can seem to figure out
what's going on with us. We lost so many, now we're winning so
many. As long as we can keep them guessing, we're in good shape."
Allison Feaster, who led the Sting with 13 points, hit four free
throws over the final 12 seconds to seal the win and stretch her
consecutive free-throw streak to 37.
Feaster, who set the Sting record for consecutive free throws on
Friday night when she made her 33rd straight, was sent to the
line twice against Houston.
The first time came with 12.8 seconds left and the Sting
clinging to a 50-49 lead. She calmly hit both shots, then after a
Houston miss, she got the rebound, was fouled and sealed the win by
making two more with 7.7 remaining.
"I'm really confident at the free-throw line and I wasn't that
way when I first came into the league," said Feaster, who was
unaware of how many consecutive shots she had made.
"It can be a pretty shaky thing being on the line by yourself
with the crowd screaming, but I've gotten used to it and am pretty
confident. Still, 37 is a lot. I don't think I can make 37 straight
just standing there."
With the victory, Charlotte improved to 2-10 lifetime against
Houston, beating the Comets (17-10) for the first time since Aug.
16, 1997.
"We had an off night and Charlotte played good defense,"
Houston coach Van Chancellor said. "But they've got a good team
and they've got it together now. They're a handful to guard."
Janeth Arcain led Houston with 20 points and was the Comets' only
player in double figures.
The Comets were without All-Star forward Tina Thompson, the
league's second-leading scorer at 20.9 points, who sat out the game
with an ankle injury.
They missed her offense early in the first half, when the Comets
missed nine straight baskets and 13 of 14 while falling into an
18-5 deficit.
But Houston eventually snapped out of its funk and opened the
second half on a tear. They scored 11 straight points to pull
within 32-31, but could never take the lead.
"Of course Tina makes a big difference, but the first half was
really the key," Arcain said. "They are a good team, they came
out strong and we were a little bit lost on their offense." Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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