Dream’s Tina Charles passes Tina Thompson for 2nd on all-time WNBA scoring list

Atlanta Dream center Tina Charles moved into second place on the WNBA’s all-time scoring list Wednesday, passing Hall of Famer Tina Thompson in the process.

Charles entered Wednesday’s game against the Phoenix Mercury with 7,479 career points, trailing Thompson’s career total (7,488) by nine points. She tied Thompson with a jumper from the wing in the third quarter for her ninth point of the night. She passed her with a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter for her 12th point of the game that gave the Dream a 51-48 lead.

The bucket was Charles’ last of the night to leave her at 7,491 points and counting. The Dream held on for a 72-63 win.

Charles, 35, has a long way to go to reach the top. Diana Taurasi, who’s still active and took the floor for the Mercury Wednesday night, is the league’s all-time leading scorer. She finished Wednesday’s game well ahead of Thompson and Charles with 10,500 career points.

Taurasi and Charles — friends and both UConn Huskies — embraced ahead of Wednesday’s game.

They shared another embrace on the court after Charles reached her achievement.

Charles isn’t going to catch Taurasi. But her move into second place further strengthens her certain Hall of Fame résumé. Charles reached the milestone in her 13th NBA season after being selected first overall by the Connecticut Sun in the 2010 draft.

She’s lived up to that top-pick billing. Charles has made eight All-Star teams and nine All-WNBA teams since joining the league. In the 2012 season that saw her miss the All-Star roster, she was named league MVP in her third year with the Sun.

She’s a two-time league scoring champion and a four-time rebounding champion. She won two national championships at UConn and has three Olympic gold medals as a member of Team USA. The only hole in her résumé is a WNBA championship.

Now she’s the WNBA’s second-leading all-time scorer.