Tina Charles wrote her name into the history books and the host Seattle Storm snapped a two-game slide by topping the Atlanta Dream 82-72 Sunday evening.
Charles -- who had a double-double by halftime -- finished with 27 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks. When Charles connected on her third 3-pointer of the game, she joined Tina Thompson, Tamika Catchings and Diana Taurasi as the only WNBA players to score more than 7,000 career points. Charles is the only member of that club who also has 3,500 rebounds.
The 33-year-old center, who signed with the Storm midseason after being released by the Phoenix Mercury, joined Breanna Stewart as the only Seattle players who have had games with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in the past three seasons. Charles is also the only Storm player to score 20 points in the first half this season.
Also for the Storm (18-10), Stewart had 23 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. It was the 25th time in WNBA history that two players on the same team had at least 20 points and 10 boards in the same game.
Rookie guard Rhyne Howard led Atlanta (12-16) with 23 points and six boards. Cheyenne Parker and Tiffany Hayes had 12 points apiece, while Naz Hillmon had a season-high 14 rebounds and nine points.
Seattle jumped out to an early 6-0 lead in the game, but ended the first quarter tied with Atlanta at 19-19. The Storm pulled away in the second quarter with an 18-8 run -- a stretch in which Charles had nine points and two boards. Charles shot 9-of-13 from the floor and 4-of-7 from behind the arc.
The Storm went on to lead by as many as 13 points. Seattle shot 42.9 percent from the floor while Atlanta connected on just 34.5 percent of its shots.
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