Comets’ Stars Lead the Way

Sheryl Swoopes scored 19 points and Cynthia Cooper had 17 as the three-time defending WNBA champion Houston Comets beat the Minnesota Lynx, 70-60, Sunday night before 8,440 at Minneapolis.

Janeth Arcain added 12 points and Tina Thompson had 11 points and 10 rebounds to help Houston extend its winning streak to nine games and improve its league-best record to 18-2.

Minnesota’s Katie Smith, second to Swoopes in the league scoring race, led the Lynx (10-8) with 18 points. Minnesota has lost three in a row, all at home.

Houston is 6-0 against Minnesota.

Orlando 68, Detroit 62--Adrienne Johnson scored 17 points and Taj McWilliams had 11 points and 11 rebounds to help Miracle beat the Shock before 6,214 at Auburn Hills, Mich.

It was the Miracle’s team-record sixth consecutive victory.

Orlando (13-6) also got 14 points from Shannon Johnson.

Wendy Palmer had 19 points and nine rebounds for Detroit (8-10), which played without its top three guards--Dominique Canty, Claudia Maria das Neves and Tamicha Jackson were all out with leg injuries--and then lost forward Olympia Scott-Richardson because of an ankle injury late in the game.

Portland 75, Washington 58--Sophia Witherspoon scored 26 points and the Fire held Chamique Holdsclaw to 15 points for a victory over the Mystics before 8,613 at Portland.

The Fire (5-12) trailed the Mystics (8-9) at halftime, 29-27.