Swoopes Helps Comets Extinguish Fire, 93-89

Sheryl Swoopes scored eight of her 29 points in the second overtime Wednesday night as the defending WNBA champion Houston Comets held off the expansion Portland Fire, 93-89, at Portland, Ore.

Swoopes scored four of Houston’s baskets in the second overtime and assisted on the other, feeding center Tiffani Johnson for an easy layup that gave the Comets an 89-87 lead with 23.5 seconds to play.

On the next possession, Swoopes intercepted a pass from Portland center Alisa Burras and ran downcourt for a layup and a 91-87 lead with 12.6 seconds remaining.

The Fire’s Stacey Thomas drove for a layup to cut the lead to two, but Cynthia Cooper made both free throws with 3.4 seconds left to seal the victory.

Houston didn’t exactly look like a three-time defending WNBA champion most of the way against the inexperienced Fire. The Comets were outshot, 43% to 40%, and outrebounded, 49-36.

Swoopes, who made 12 of 27 shots, also had six rebounds and five assists. Cooper added 22 points but made only six of 23 shots. Janeth Arcain had 18 points.

Burras and Sophia Witherspoon, acquired in the expansion draft from the New York Liberty, led the Fire with 19 points each. Vanessa Nygaard had 11 rebounds.

Sacramento 76, Seattle 60--Latasha Byears had 17 points and eight rebounds at Sacramento as the Monarchs spoiled the Storm’s WNBA debut.

Byears, playing a reserve role after starting in her first three seasons in the league, helped Sacramento’s backups outscore Seattle’s subs, 37-8. Reserves Katy Steding and Stacy Clinesmith each had 10 points for the Monarchs.

Monarchs All-Star guard Ruthie Bolton-Holifield was in uniform but did not play because of a strained right knee.

Seattle’s Edna Campbell, the No. 2 pick in the expansion draft and the league’s top scorer in the exhibition season, had 22 points. Kamila Vodichkova added 20 points and nine rebounds for the Storm.

Phoenix 51, New York 48--Brandy Reed scored 22 points, including the winning basket with 23 seconds to play at Phoenix.

Reed, acquired in an off-season trade with the Minnesota Lynx, made a jump shot from just below the free-throw line to give the Mercury a 49-48 lead. Tonya Edwards made two free throws with one second left to seal the victory.

Vickie Johnson, who led the Liberty with 14 points, missed a desperation three-point shot at the buzzer.

Washington 91, Orlando 66--Chamique Holdsclaw scored a career-high 29 points and had 12 rebounds as the Mystics romped at Washington.

Nikki McCray added 26 points and Murriel Page scored 11 of her 15 points in the second half as the Mystics opened the season with a victory for the first time in their three-year history.

Washington broke the franchise scoring record when Tausha Mills made a free throw with 40.2 seconds to play, making the score 89-65. Holdsclaw tied a team mark with her 29-point performance.

Minnesota 73, Cleveland 62--Katie Smith scored a franchise-record 34 points as the revamped Lynx opened their second season with a victory at Minneapolis.

Kristin Folkl added 15 points for the Lynx, who withstood several runs by the Rockers in the second half.

Smith also tied a team record with six three-point baskets.

Her previous career high was 27 points, set Aug. 11, 1999. The old team record was 28 set twice last summer by Brandy Reed, who was traded to the Phoenix Mercury in the off-season.