Tina Charles becomes franchise rebounding leader in Liberty win

Jul 7, 2017, 07:20 pm

SEATTLE -- Tina Charles had 12 rebounds to become the franchise leader and scored 29 points in the New York Liberty's 79-70 victory over the Seattle Storm on Thursday night.

Charles has 1,062 rebounds with New York. She broke the franchise mark of 1,053 set by Vicki Johnson.

Charles blocked Breanna Stewart's layup and hit a bank shot at the other end to extend New York's lead to 58-52. The Liberty added two free throws at the end of the third quarter for an eight-point lead.

Stewart and Sami Whitcomb each made a 3-pointer on consecutive Seattle possessions to pull to 70-64 with 5:46 left. But after a timeout, Charles answered with a three-point play.

Kia Vaughn had 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Epiphanny Prince had 16 points for New York (8-7).

Stewart had 20 points and 14 rebounds for Seattle (7-9). Sue Bird made her first basket of the game with 8:14 left in the fourth to snap a six-plus minute field-goal drought for the Storm.