Tina Charles leads Connecticut Sun past Tulsa Shock in record-setting night - MassLive.com

Evan Vucci | Associated PressConnecticut Sun forward Asjha Jones has been a key contributor for the team this season.

TULSA, Okla. â€" Tina Charles had a team-high 24 points and added 10 rebounds to lead Connecticut to an 86-75 victory against Tulsa on Friday.

Charles, who had just four points in the first quarter, had 12 by halftime and tallied 12 more in the second half to post the 55th double-double of her career, a Connecticut franchise record.

“She was good down the stretch,” Connecticut coach Mike Thibault said of Charles. “She really wanted the ball.”

Asjha Jones also had a double-double for the Eastern Conference-leading Sun (11-4) with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

The double-doubles for Charles and Jones marked the third straight game that the duo has accomplished the feat.

“That shows you why they are both Olympians,” Thibault said of Charles and Jones, who are both members of Team USA for the Olympics in London.

Kara Lawson had 14 points and six of the Sun’s 25 assists â€" a season best for Connecticut. Five Sun players had three or more assists.

Reserve Mistie Mims added 10 points and six rebounds for Connecticut.

Tulsa’s Ivory Latta also had 24 points, including 6 of 7 from 3-point range. Kayla Pedersen added 10 points and five assists for the Shock (2-13).

Charles, who played only five minutes in the first period after two quick fouls, returned to hit a pair of free throws to give Connecticut the lead at 29-27 with 6:06 remaining in the second quarter.

She tallied eight of her 12 first-half points in a 19-7 run that gave the Sun a 46-34 halftime advantage.

Tulsa closed within 55-52 midway the third quarter. But Allison Hightower scored four of her six points in an 11-2 burst to finish the period to give the Sun a 66-54 lead entering the final period.

Tan White scored seven of her nine points in the final 10 minutes to help keep Tulsa at bay.

The Sun rolled to a 25-10 lead after one quarter, hitting 64.7 percent from the field. Lawson had two of the Sun’s 3-pointers in the period.

Meanwhile, Tulsa managed just 21.1 percent from the floor in the opening 10 minutes.

“That really was the difference, the slow start,” Tulsa coach Gary Kloppenburg said. “We’re just not good enough to have lapses like that.”

But Latta opened the second quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers and had 11 points in a 17-2 Tulsa run that tied the game at 27 with 6:32 to go before halftime.

“She played an outstanding game,” Kloppenburg said. She got good shots and knocked them down. We just needed a couple more players to step up for us.”