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Saturday, Jun. 3 1:00pm ET
Rockers pull away with 11-0 run | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Chasity Melvin scored 19 points on powerful play inside to lead the Cleveland Rockers past the Washington Mystics 72-49 on Saturday. Melvin scored seven consecutive points during an 11-0 run that gave Cleveland a 53-35 lead. The 6-foot-3 center had 15 points and five of her game-high seven rebounds in the second half as the Rockers gave coach Dan Hughes his first victory with the Rockers. Melvin shot 8-for-14 from the field. Only one shot, a 15-foot jumper, was from more than a couple feet away from the basket. Nikki McCray led Washington with 24 points, hitting six of seven 3-point shots. Chamique Holdsclaw scored 13 points for the Mystics. Merlakia Jones scored 13 points and Eva Nemcova had 11 points for Cleveland. Nemcova played a key role in shutting down Holdsclaw, who averaged 20.3 points in four games a year ago against the Rockers and who scored 29 in the Mystics' 26-point season-opening win Wednesday night over the Orlando Miracle. Holdsclaw shot just 1-for-6 from the field in the first half. Nemcova also made both of her free throws, extending her league record to 64 consecutive foul shots without a miss. Cleveland's tenacious defense, sparked by reserve guards Mery Andrade and Helen Darling, forced the Mystics to make 26 turnovers, 15 coming in the second half. McCray scored the Mystics' first nine points on three 3-pointers to give Washington a 9-6 lead. Darling then scored on a drive to the basket and hit a 3-pointer to spark Cleveland on a 10-2 run that gave put the Rockers in front 25-17. The Mystics came back on consecutive 3-pointers by Holdsclaw and McCray to pull within 28-27, but Nemcova gave the Rockers a 33-27 halftime lead by sinking a 3-pointer as the first-half buzzer sounded. | ALSO SEE WNBA Scoreboard RECAPS Cleveland 72 Washington 49
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