Charlotte, N.C. ? Sheri Sam scored 24 points to help the Charlotte Sting beat the Los Angeles Sparks, 84-75, on Saturday night for their first victory of the season.

Dawn Staley added 12 points and 10 assists for the Sting, who opened the season with three straight losses.

“We were 0-3 and in desperate need of a win,” Staley said. “I love playing the Sparks, because I know we’re going to have an opportunity to score.”

Staley, who scored all of her points in the second half, did not have a turnover in 36 minutes.

“They played off of me in the first half,” Staley said. “That was insulting, to be perfectly honest. I knew I was going to look for my shot in the second half, it was just a question of whether it would go in or not.”

Two days after reaching 3,000 points in her WNBA career, Chamique Holdsclaw recorded her fourth consecutive double-double for the Sparks, finishing with 26 points and 11 rebounds. Lisa Leslie added 16 points and nine rebounds, and Tamika Whitmore had 14 points.

The Sting shot a season-best 52 percent and hit eight three-pointers, matching their combined total from the first three games. Sam hit three threes in the first half.

“I think we learned a lot about the team on this road trip,” Holdsclaw said. “We’re still getting used to each other, everybody knows what we need to do to improve.”

Charlotte led by as many as 11 points in the second half before Los Angeles closed within three, but that was as close as the Sparks got.

Sun 85, Mercury 68

Uncasville, Conn. – Taj McWilliams-Franklin had 25 points and nine rebounds, leading Connecticut.

Nykesha Sales added 21 points, and Lindsay Whalen guided the Sun’s uptempo game with seven assists.

The Sun picked up their first victory over Phoenix in the last three meetings and spoiled the homecoming of former UConn star Diana Taurasi, the Mercury’s first pick in the 2004 draft.

Taurasi finished with 19 points, but had no assists. Anna DeForge led Phoenix with 20 points.

The Sun’s home opener began with a ceremony to raise the 2004 Eastern Conference championship banner before a sellout crowd of 9,341. Taurasi kept Phoenix close, hitting consecutive threes to cut the Sun lead to 37-35 at the break.

Connecticut led by as many as 17 in the second half. The Sun dominated in the paint, 42-10.