Charles in charge

So Tina Charles was spectacular. She was "sensational," according to coach Mike Thibault and a monster, according to well ... anyone who probably watched the Sun's 82-79 victory over Phoenix.

She scored 19 points and grabbed a franchise-record 23 rebounds a week after setting the mark with 19 against Los Angeles. She tied Michelle Snow (2006) for the second most in a game and was one short of Chamique Holdscalw's 2003 WNBA record of 24 in a single game.

Charles had her 10th double-double of the season before halftime, and with 160 rebounds in 13 games, she is on pace to break the single-season WNBA record of 363 boards held by Cheryl Ford (2006). She's also two double-doubles shy of Taj McWilliam-Franklin's franchise mark of 12 double-doubles and should break her team record for rebounds in a season with 306 (also 2006).

Apparently that was a good year for rebounding. So far, this has been a great one for the No. 1 overall pick.

“With rebounding, it takes a lot of heart and having the (right) mindset,” said Charles. “A lot of people sometimes are lazy. … But I think that’s a key thing to winning, getting rebounds. When I was at UConn, every single game that I played since my freshman year, coach (Geno) Auriemma used to always challenge me to try to get a double-double before halftime, so that’s the mindset I have.”