CHARLOTTE, North Carolina, Aug. 13 (Ticker) -- Allison Feaster made
sure the Charlotte Sting and Washington Mystics both will be
headed to the airport.
Feaster scored eight of her 20 points in a key first-half run as
the Sting gained home-court advantage for their upcoming
first-round series against the Mystics with a 67-57 victory.
Charlotte (18-14), the defending Eastern Conference champion,
finished one game ahead of Washington (17-15) for the second
seed in the East. The Sting and Mystics will open their series
at Washington on Thursday before coming back here for the final
two games, if the series goes that far. Had the Mystics won,
the teams would have stayed in Charlotte to open the series.
Tonya Washington's 3-pointer gave the Mystics a 23-20 lead with
7 1/2 minutes remaining. Feaster answered with one of her own
and added five more points in a 14-0 run for a 34-23 cushion
with 1:28 remaining.
Washington got within 34-28 on a free throw by rookie Stacey
Dales-Schuman to open the second half but Andrea Stinson and
Feaster responded with baskets to restore a 10-point bulge.
Stinson's jumper with 14:29 left to play gave Charlotte its
largest lead at 44-31.
Vicky Bullett scored 11 points and Annie Burgess netted 10 for
Washington. Leading scorer Chamique Holdsclaw managed just eight
on 4-of-17 shooting.









