WNBA
Scores/Schedules Standings
Statistics
Rosters
  Wednesday, Jul. 12 8:30pm ET
Swoopes scores 25 to pace Houston
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE

HOUSTON (AP) -- Sheryl Swoopes had 25 points, nine rebounds and five assists, and the Houston Comets closed with a 13-0 run over the final 5:05 to beat the Sacramento Monarchs 77-62 Wednesday night.

Yolanda Griffith scored 22 points -- 14 in the first half -- as the three-time WNBA champion Comets improved its league-best 19-2 mark and won their 10th in a row.

Sheryl Swoopes
Houston's Sheryl Swoopes (22) drives to the hoop on her way to 25 points against Sacramento on Wednesday.

Houston's Cynthia Cooper suffered a right ankle sprain and is probable for the Comets' game Friday in Los Angeles. Cooper was helped off the court with a little more than a minute left after scoring 17 points. She was not taken for X-rays.

Both teams struggled to maintain a lead in the first half until the Monarchs (13-7) began a 14-2 run to take a 29-20 advantage, their biggest of the game.

Houston answered right back, though, with a 15-2 run to take a 35-31 lead at halftime.

Sacramento regained the lead at the start of the second half with a 10-2 run, but the Comets quickly took it right back and never trailed again.

The Monarchs managed to tie the game twice more and trailed by only two, 64-62, with 5:05 left to play, before Houston went on its game-ending run.

Tina Thompson (15 points) and Tiffani Johnson (10) also reached double figures for the Comets. Ruthie Bolton-Holifield and Tangela Smith added 12 and 11 points, respectively, for the Monarchs.

 


ALSO SEE
WNBA Scoreboard

RECAPS
Detroit 61
Seattle 56

Cleveland 74
Orlando 72

Indiana 81
Washington 58

New York 84
Charlotte 70

Houston 77
Sacramento 62

Utah 76
Portland 67

AUDIO/VIDEO
video
 Sheryl Swoopes gets out on the break and takes it in for Houston.
avi: 541 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1

 Yolanda Griffith comes off the screen to score in the paint.
avi: 680 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1