Stinson Leads Sting Past Mystics in Walker’s Debut

The Charlotte Sting spoiled Darrell Walker’s debut as coach of the Washington Mystics with a 76-73 victory Saturday before 18,713 at Washington.

Andrea Stinson scored 24 points to lead the Sting (4-17).

The Mystics forced a number of late turnovers to cut a 16-point deficit in the second half to two, but Dawn Staley’s free throw with eight seconds remaining accounted for the final margin.

“I felt good when Dawn went to the free throw line at the end,” said Sting Coach T.R. Dunn, a teammate of Walker’s with the Denver Nuggets. “I think I was more nervous than she was.”

The Mystics (9-12) had a chance to tie, but Chamique Holdsclaw missed a three-point shot at the buzzer.

Walker, the Mystics’ director of player personnel, took over as coach when Nancy Darsch resigned Friday. Walker had coached in the NBA and CBA, but Saturday’s game was his first with a women’s team on any level.

“CBA, NBA, WNBA . . . it’s all basketball,” Walker said after the game. “I never thought I’d be coaching [women’s basketball], but I’ve watched it a long time.”

Utah 75, Sacramento 69--Natalie Williams had 29 points and 13 rebounds as the Starzz won before 8,348 at Sacramento.

Utah (12-10) won its third straight, and pulled within a game of Sacramento (13-9) for fourth place in the Western Conference. The top four teams make the playoffs.

Yolanda Griffith had 29 points and 17 rebounds for the Monarchs, losers of three in a row.

The Starzz made 15 of 18 free throws in the final seven minutes. Jennifer Azzi had the team’s only field goal during the stretch, with a short jump shot that put Utah ahead, 68-63, with 2:46 left.

Cleveland 79, Indiana 55--Merlakia Jones made her first three shots to spark the Rockers (12-8) to an early lead and they went on to an easy victory over the expansion Fever (5-15) before 9,736 at Cleveland. The Rockers led by as many as 30 points en route to their fourth consecutive victory.