Currie scored 11 of her 13 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Charlotte Sting to their first win of the season, a 73-63 victory over Beard and the Washington Mystics.
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Mystics-Sting: Play |
The third overall pick in the 2006 draft, Currie played collegiately at Duke, where she assumed the leadership role from Beard, the second overall pick in 2004 and an All-Star last season.
Beard scored 11 points in the first half, helping Washington (1-1) open a 36-32 lead. But she did not score again as Charlotte moved into a 46-46 tie after three quarters, then pulled away in the final period.
Two free throws by Sheri Sam gave the Sting the lead for good at 56-55 with 5:42 left. A basket by Nakia Sanford pulled the Mystics within 62-61 with 3:07 remaining, but Sam made two more free throws and Currie drained a 3-pointer for a 67-61 lead with 1:58 to go.
Charlotte made 6-of-8 foul shots in the final 90 seconds to seal the win. In the fourth quarter, the Sting was 16-of-18 from the line.
Sam and LaToya Bond scored 12 points each for Charlotte, which survived 35 percent (21-of-60) shooting.
Sanford scored 10 points for Washington, which shot 41 percent (26-of-63) but committed 27 turnovers.
