Cooper Helps Houston Rally Past Detroit

Cynthia Cooper scored 23 of her 34 points in the second half Friday night to rally the Houston Comets to a 61-57 victory over the Detroit Shock in front of 15,338 at Auburn Hills, Mich.

The Comets (24-2) won their fourth consecutive game. The Shock (13-12) lost for the third time in five games as their playoff chances grow slimmer.

Cooper’s point total matched her own season-high and was the highest against the Shock.

Cindy Brown’s basket off an offensive rebound pulled Detroit within one point with 32 seconds left, but Cooper hit two free throws to make it 60-57.

Korie Hlede’s off-balance three-point attempt with two seconds left missed badly, and Yolanda Moore then made one of two free throws to finish the scoring.

Sacramento 76, Washington 55--Tangela Smith scored 19 points to lead six Monarch players in double figures as they overwhelmed the Mystics in front of 5,847 at Sacramento.

The expansion Mystics (2-22) moved a step closer to setting the record for the lowest winning percentage in professional basketball history. It is .083 with six games remaining.

The record is .110 by the NBA’s 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers.