AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) Tammy Sutton-Brown scored 19 points and Andrea Stinson added 14 as the Charlotte Sting helped their playoff chances with a 76-65 victory over the Detroit Shock on Tuesday night.

The Sting, however, lost All-Star point guard Dawn Staley to a sprained ankle with two minutes to play. Her status for Friday's game in Minnesota wasn't known.

Allison Feaster added 12 points for Charlotte (15-14), which moved one-half game ahead of Orlando and into third place in the WNBA's Eastern Conference. The top four teams in conference qualify for the playoffs.

Elaine Powell had 15 points and Swin Cash added 10 for Detroit (8-21), which had won two straight.

Charlotte led 40-31 at halftime behind 12 points from Sutton-Brown, then got off to a quick start in the second when Charlotte Smith hit a 3-pointer in the opening seconds.

A basket by Sutton-Brown gave the Sting a 14-point lead before the Shock had their only rally of the second half.

A 3-pointer by Deanna Nolan got Detroit within 46-40, but two free throws by Sutton-Brown capped a run by the Sting that got their lead back to 11 points and the Shock never challenged again.

Notes: The road team won all three games in the season series, with Charlotte finishing with a 2-1 edge. ... Sting coach Anne Donovan picked up a technical foul for arguing in the second half. ... Detroit fell to 8-11 under Bill Laimbeer and need to win the final three games to get him to .500.

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