CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Charlotte Smith sat shivering in a cold
whirlpool, aching from too many ailments to count, yet still able to
savor the biggest game of her pro career.
|  | | Charlotte Smith gave herself good reason to celebrate, playing her most memorable game as a pro. |
Smith scored all 10 of her points in a six-minute stretch of the second half, lifting the surging Charlotte Sting to a 53-46 victory over the Cleveland Rockers in the first game of the WNBA's Eastern Conference semifinals.
"This was so huge, just a tremendous confidence booster for us and it took the wind right out of Cleveland's sails," she said, grimacing as she shifted her weight away from her strained hamstring and onto a sprained ankle.
The victory over the top-seeded Rockers gave the Sting a 1-0
lead in the best-of-three series and helped them continue the
biggest turnaround in WNBA history.
Charlotte, which started the season 1-10, has won a franchise-record eight straight games.
"We were 1-10 and everyone will continue to remind us of that," said guard Dawn Staley, who scored 11 points for Charlotte. "We're just hoping this snowballs into something special."
The series shifts to Cleveland, where the Rockers went 14-2
during the regular season. But the Sting, who have won 18 of 22,
handed Cleveland one of those losses, beating the Rockers 55-53
there last Friday night.
Game 2 is Saturday.
"We have to go back home and regroup," said guard Merlakia
Jones, who was held to just four points. "We fought all year for
home court advantage and now we have to jump on it."
Ann Wauters led the Rockers with 12 points. Chasity Melvin was their only other player in double figures, scoring 11.
Cleveland, which limped into the postseason on a three-game
losing streak, had trouble stopping Charlotte's spread offense in
the second half.
The Rockers particularly struggled with Smith, who averages just
5.7 points and is generally not looked to for scoring.
"I think anybody would be surprised to see me scoring on this
level," Smith said. "My role is on the defensive end and I'm fine
with that, but people sometimes forget that I'm still capable of
scoring."
Charlotte didn't after the Cleveland opened the second half with seven straight points to take a 35-25 lead.
The Sting turned to Smith and she answered with a breakout half
for one of the most memorable games of her pro career.
Until now, Smith has been best known for hitting what is
generally considered the most dramatic basket in women's collegiate
history -- a 3-pointer with .7 seconds left to lift North Carolina
to the 1994 national title.
"People probably look back at that shot and wonder what
happened to me," she said. "If you just look at the box score,
you don't know. But if you come to the game and you see what my role is and you see how many other offensive threats we have, you understand."
Against the Rockers, Smith finally had a chance to play a bigger role during a pro game.
She sparked a 17-5 second-half run by scoring seven points in a
4:16 span. Her first basket of the game was a 3-pointer with 12:32
to play that cut Cleveland's lead to 37-34.
She then scored on a short jumper that rolled around on the rim
for what seemed like an eternity before falling in and pulling the
Sting within one.
Two minutes later she grabbed the rebound of a miss by Staley
and with just one second left on the shot clock, heaved it in to
give the Sting a 44-42 lead.
She added another 3 with 6:17 to play to stretch the lead to
47-42 and it was all the Sting needed as the Rockers had just one
more field goal the rest of the game.
"Charlotte came to play the last 20 minutes for sure," Sting coach Anne Donovan said. "She's been hurting the past week, but she played very hard for us and gave us a lift when we needed to have it."
 Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
|
|
ALSO SEE
WNBA Scoreboard
Cleveland team page
Charlotte team page
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Andrea Stinson gets the basket and the foul on an off-balanced shot in the lane.
avi: 1130 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN
Cable Modem
The Sting's Charlotte Smith knocks down a big 3-pointer late in the game.
avi: 981 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN
Cable Modem
|
