Staley, the former University of Virginia star who spent two seasons in the ABL, upstaged the highly anticipated arrival of Holdsclaw with a dazzling 23 points -- including 15 in the second half -- as the Charlotte Sting beat the Washington Mystics 83-73 Thursday in a season opener.

Neither Holdsclaw's 18 points and six rebounds, nor the announced sellout crowd of 20,674, nor a proclamation from Mayor Anthony Williams declaring it "Washington Mystics Day" could mask the obvious: Even though they are better with the two-time player of the year from Tennessee, the Mystics still have a ways to go to catch the league's best teams.

The Sting shot 65 percent in the second half, making nine consecutive shots during one stretch. The scored was tied 63-63 with 9 minutes, 16 seconds remaining, but an 18-4 run that included consecutive 3-pointers by reserve guard Stephanie McCarty put the game away.

Holdsclaw had her moments, starting with a nice fallaway 16-footer from the left wing for the Mystics' first basket 1:09 into the game. She showed the ability to create her own shots and went 7-for-14 from the field, but the Sting didn't let her have free rein.

Nikki McCray led Washington with 22 points and Muriel Page had 14. Andrea Nagy had 12 assists.

Tracy Reid had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Sting.

The attendance was officially a sellout, tying the record set twice by the Mystics last year for largest crowd to watch a women's professional game in the United States. However, the MCI Center was not packed on any of its three levels. The noise level, though, matched that of any Washington Wizards NBA game.

The Mystics, 3-27 last year, lost all four games against the Sting in 1998 by an average of 25 points, including a 105-69 embarrassment in the season finale.

Early on, it looked as if it this would be another rout. Defense helped Charlotte build a 24-14 lead midway through the first half, but Page scored six straight Mystics points and McCray scored the next seven as Washington rallied to a 36-34 halftime lead.

The second half belonged to Staley, who finished 10-for-15 from the field and showed no effects of the knee injury that sidelined her much of last year.