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Sunday, Aug. 6 7:00pm ET
Rockers' early 22-0 run KO's Mystics | |||||
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BOX SCORE
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Rushia Brown scored 16 points as the Cleveland Rockers used a 22-0 run in the first half and beat the Washington Mystics 77-60 Sunday night. Washington (13-17) remained one game ahead of the Detroit Shock for the fourth and final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. The Rockers (17-13) secured a second-place finish in the East, and moved within two games of first-place New York in the East. Cleveland will play the Liberty at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night. Chamique Holdsclaw led Washington with 22 points. Mystics rookie Tausha Mills was ejected with 3:05 to play after a flagrant foul on Rockers rookie Ann Wauters. Mills did not immediately leave the court until instructed to do so by the referees. She returned to the Mystics bench, however, and was escorted to the locker room by security guards. Brown had two of Cleveland's seven steals that helped the Rockers hold Washington scoreless for 8:52 and take a 43-18 lead. Chasity Melvin began the run by stealing the ball from Nikki McCray with 9:26 left in the first half, leading to a layup by Merlakia Jones and a 23-18 lead. Brown then stole a pass by Holdsclaw and passed to Mery Andrade for a 14-foot jumper 25 seconds later. Minutes later, rookie guard Helen Darling stepped in front of a pass by Markita Aldridge and passed to Brown for an easy layup. Brown then picked off another poor pass by McCray and eventually scored on another layup for a 31-18 lead. Cleveland scored 20 points on 15 first-half turnovers by the Mystics. Melvin finished with 15 points and Jones had 12. Veteran guard Suzie McConnell Serio had eight points and seven assists in her last regular-season home game. McConnell Serio announced in a pregame news conference that she will retire after the season. | ALSO SEE WNBA Scoreboard Roundup: McConnell Serio cites family demands, injuries in retiring
RECAPS Orlando 92 Detroit 63
Cleveland 77
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