NEW YORK, June 21 (Ticker) -- Improvements by Becky Hammon and Shameka Christon enabled the New York Liberty to post a rare victory.

Hammon scored 23 points and Christon added a career-high 21 for the Liberty, who snapped a three-game losing streak with a 72-66 triumph over the Washington Mystics.

Winning for just the third time in 12 contests, New York defeated a conference opponent for the first time in eight games and salvaged a split of the home-and-home series with Washington.

NBA TV highlights from Mystics-Liberty: Play

Hammon, who scored 14 points in Saturday's 88-70 loss to the Mystics, had 10 in the fourth quarter of this one. She went 9-for-9 from the foul line and hit a running jumper with 4:41 left, giving the Liberty a 61-54 lead.

Chasity Melvin made a three-point play with 3:17 to play and hit a layup with 1:35 remaining as the Mystics cut the deficit to 67-66. However, they could pull ahead as Criston nailed an eight-foot jumper for New York with 1:13 left.

Barbara Farris scored 11 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Liberty, who made 15-of-16 free throws in the second half and raised their home record to 2-3.

Melvin and Alana Beard scored 20 points apiece for Washington, which was held 18 points below its season average and fell one game behind Connecticut for first place in the Eastern Conference.