WNBA Feaster, Enis lead Sting past Monarchs

Yolanda Griffith scored 17 points to lead Sacramento.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Allison Feaster and Shalonda Enis each scored 19 points Saturday as the Charlotte Sting beat the Sacramento Monarchs 67-65.
The Sting (10-6) grabbed two key offensive rebounds in the final seconds to preserve the win after blowing a 16-point second-half lead.
With Charlotte ahead 66-65, Tammy Sutton-Brown rebounded Feaster's miss and Dawn Staley was fouled with 5.8 seconds left. Staley made the first free throw and missed the second, but Andrea Stinson rebounded and the Sting ran out the clock.
Yolanda Griffith scored 17 points while Ticha Penicheiro added 13 for Sacramento (7-10), which lost its second straight game.
Feaster's jumper capped a 9-0 run to start the second half, giving Charlotte a 48-37 lead. The Sting pushed the lead to 56-40 on Enis' 3-pointer with 15:57 left.
The Monarchs rallied with defense, holding Charlotte to one field goal over nearly 11 minutes. Griffith scored six straight points in a 22-3 spurt, and DeMya Walker's two free throws gave Sacramento a 62-59 lead with 6:37 to play.
Charlotte responded with seven straight points to retake the lead. The Monarchs cut it to one on Ruthie Bolton's free throw with 51 seconds left, but they couldn't overtake Charlotte a second time.
Stinson scored 12 points, and Sutton-Brown finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds for Charlotte. Enis went 4-for-5 from 3-point range.
Late Friday
UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- The key pick that opened the lane for Connecticut's Taj McWilliams-Franklin in the final seconds came from an unlikely source.
Sacramento post players DeMya Walker and Yolanda Griffith collided in the paint and McWilliams-Franklin made a running layup with 3.3 seconds left to give the Sun a 69-67 victory over the Monarchs on Friday night.
She was grateful for the help, no matter who set it.
"DeMya set a pick on Yo and I had a layup," McWilliams-Franklin said.
The winning play was nearly identical to McWilliams-Franklin's buzzer-beater in Connecticut's 65-63 win over Washington on June 24.
The Sun (8-8) rallied from a 16-point deficit late in the first half by stepping up their defense and outrebounding the much taller Monarchs 20-11 in the second half. McWilliams-Franklin is the Sun's tallest starter at 6-foot-2.