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

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

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

The bucket was Charles’ last of the night, bringing her total to 7,491 and counting. The Dream held on to win 72-63.

Charles, 35, has a long way to go to reach the top. Diana Taurasi, who is still active and took the field for the Mercury on 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 former UConn Huskies, embraced before Wednesday’s game.

After Charles accomplished her feat, they embraced once more on the field.

Charles won’t overtake Taurasi. But her ascension to No. 2 further bolsters her certain Hall of Fame resume. 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, which she missed the All-Star roster, she was named league MVP in her third year with the Sun.

She is 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 gap in her resume is a WNBA championship.

She is now the second-leading scorer of all time in the WNBA.