Comets Win Their Fifth in a Row

Sheryl Swoopes scored 22 points, and the Houston Comets rallied to beat the slumping Detroit Shock, 75-66, Tuesday night at Auburn Hills, Mich., for their fifth victory in a row.

Houston (9-5), which trailed by as many as 10 points in the second half, hasn’t been beaten since a four-game losing streak from June 10 to 15.

The Shock, which is sending four players to Saturday’s All-Star game, is 2-7 since a league-best 4-0 start.

The game marked the return to Detroit’s lineup of All-Star starter Swin Cash, who hadn’t played since tearing a ligament in her right knee in September. She played 18 minutes, scoring two points.

Detroit’s other All-Star starter, center Ruth Riley, was limited to nine minutes by foul trouble, opening the way for rookie Kara Braxton’s career-best 20 points and eight rebounds.

Deanna Nolan scored 19 points for Detroit, and Janeth Arcain had 14 for Houston.

Phoenix 76, San Antonio 69 -- Penny Taylor scored a game-high 21 points on eight-for-11 shooting at San Antonio, and Phoenix broke a season-high five-game losing streak.

The Mercury (4-11) broke out of the Western Conference cellar, and the Silver Stars (5-13) inherit last place.

Taylor hit a pair of three-pointers to give the Mercury a seven-point lead with 9:12 remaining. She also had seven assists.

The Silver Stars, led by Wendy Palmer-Daniels’ 17 points, were trying to win three in a row for the first time since August 2003.

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Lisa Leslie and Chamique Holdsclaw of the Sparks, and the Connecticut Sun’s Nykesha Sales were each selected to their sixth WNBA All-Star game.

Leslie and Holdsclaw will be joined as Western Conference reserves by Sacramento’s DeMya Walker, Houston’s Michelle Snow, Minnesota’s Katie Smith and San Antonio’s Marie Ferdinand.

Walker and Snow will be making their first All-Star appearances Saturday.

Sales will be joined on the Eastern Conference bench by Detroit’s Cheryl Ford and Deanna Nolan, Washington’s Alana Beard, New York’s Ann Wauters and Connecticut’s Taj McWilliams-Franklin.

Beard and Wauters are first-time All-Stars.