Updated

Tina Charles had 26 points and 10 rebounds, Renee Montgomery scored 23 points and the Connecticut Sun beat the Washington Mystics 79-71 Thursday night.

Tan White added 11 points for the Sun (3-1), who entered the game 9-26 on the road since the start of the 2009 season.

Kelly Miller scored 19 points for the Mystics (1-3), who have struggled on defense to start the season under first-year coach Trudi Lacey. Washington entered the game allowing opponents to shoot 52.4 percent from the field.

Nicky Anosike led the Mystics with 13 rebounds.

Connecticut took a 17-point lead in the first half, but the Mystics' 3-point shooting made it 43-37 at halftime.

Anosike's jumper with 5:43 remaining gave Washington its first lead of the game, at 65-64 but Charles made a putback on the net possession, and the Sun finished on a 15-6 run.