AUBURN HILLS, Michigan (Ticker) -- The Detroit Shock again proved to be the tonic for the Charlotte Sting.

The Sting finally notched their first win of the season as Andrea Stinson and Rhonda Mapp scored 21 points apiece in a 78-67 victory over the Shock in a rematch of last season's Eastern Conference semifinal.

Charlotte (1-5) closed last season with a five-game losing streak but ended it here by defeating Detroit, 60-54, in the one-game playoff. The Sting fell in the conference finals to the New York Liberty.

Charlotte snapped a 10-game regular-season slide and avoided tying the 1998 Washington Mystics for the longest losing streak in WNBA history. The Sting opened a five-game trip by ending a team record-tying six-game road skid.

"I think our ladies came out from the jump ball ready to play and ready to be intense," Sting coach T.R. Dunn said. "Fortunately, we shot the ball really well early in the game. That gave us a lead that we carried the whole night."

The Shock used an 8-2 run to close to 61-58 with 4:20 remaining, helped by rookie Anna DeForge's two 3-pointers. But the Sting answered with a 7-2 burst to increase the lead to 68-60 with 2:26 left. Dawn Staley hit a 3-pointer and Stinson and Mapp closed the spurt with consecutive layups.

"This wasn't the playoff game. This was a game that we desperately needed to win," Stinson said. "We still have a lot to improve on. But we played hard and we played as a team and we hustled."

Mapp grabbed 15 rebounds, helping Charlotte to a 35-31 advantage on the boards, and Staley scored 13 points.

"We were just focused on winning the game tonight," Mapp said. "That's what we needed. We haven't had enough intensity, but tonight we did. That's why we won."

Elena Tornikidou scored 16 points, while Astou Ndiaye-Diatta and rookie Tamicha Jackson each added 12 for Detroit, which has dropped three of its last four. The Shock shot just 2-of-13 from 3-point range and made only 59 percent (13-of-22) of its free throws.

"Let me say that we just didn't meet the challenge tonight," Shock coach Nancy Lieberman-Cline said. "I thought this would be especially easy for our veterans to get up for, but it never happened. Our veterans just didn't play well."

Sting forward Charlotte Smith sat out with a twisted right knee. They already are without Shalonda Enis, who has an Achilles injury, while Staley, Tracy Reid and Summer Erb are recovering from injuries.

The Shock climbed their way into the contest with an 11-2 run, getting within 48-43 with 12:40 left. Jackson scored four points during the spurt, finishing it with a jumper.

Charlotte regained the momentum by scoring the next six points and opening an 11-point cushion with 10:59 remaining. Stinson scored the last four points, including a 16-foot jumper to end it.