Swoopes’ Shot Saves Comets in Overtime

Sheryl Swoopes’ jumper with three seconds left in overtime gave the Houston Comets a 76-74 victory over the Detroit Shock before 10,147 Friday night at Auburn Hills, Mich.

The Comets (21-3) led by as many as 21 points, but Detroit (10-12) rallied to tie the score at 68-68 on Anna DeForge’s three-point shot with nine seconds to play in regulation.

Cynthia Cooper led Houston with a season-high 27 points. Swoopes finished with 21.

Wendy Palmer had 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Shock.

Houston outrebounded Detroit, 44-32. Tiffani Johnson had 15 and Tina Thompson 13.

The Comets seemingly took control with an early 25-4 run that gave them a 32-11 lead late in the first half.

Charlotte 73, Portland 64--Charlotte Smith finished with 12 points and made a key three-point shot with 4:18 remaining, as the Sting (5-17) won before 4,974 at Charlotte.

Dawn Staley led Charlotte with 18 points and made a three-pointer with 2:07 left to give the Sting a seven-point lead.

Sophia Witherspoon scored 16 of her 25 points in the second half for the Fire (7-15).

Miami 76, Utah 65--Sheri Sam scored 23 points and Marlies Askamp added 17 as the Sol set a franchise points record before 7,341 at Miami.

“The numbers show how hard the team played,” said Sam, who nearly doubled her season scoring average of 11.8 points per game. “This team doesn’t quit.”

Askamp, who was scoreless in the Sol’s last game, broke out of a scoring slump with 13 points in the first half.

Utah (12-12) pulled within one, but Miami (9-14) went on a 15-3 run over the next seven minutes and took a 13-point lead.

Washington 61, Orlando 59--Reserve Keisha Anderson made a running layup for the Mystics as time expired, capping a second-half comeback against the Miracle before 13,382 at Washington.

Anderson scored a career-high 13 points. Taj McWilliams scored 15 points and gave Orlando a 55-49 lead with 4:33 left in the second half, but Washington rallied with a 10-2 run.

Seattle 67, Minnesota 61--Edna Campbell scored 17 points and Sonja Henning added a career-high 15 points to end the six-game losing streak of the Storm (4-19) before 9,242 at Seattle. The Lynx (10-13) committed a season-high 23 turnovers.