Sparks Achieve First Sweep of the Comets

Lisa Leslie scored 16 points and led the Sparks to their first regular-season sweep of the Houston Comets with a 56-52 victory on Tuesday.

Leslie scored 13 points in the second half and added 13 rebounds for her league-leading 14th double-double.

Chamique Holdsclaw added 15 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for the Sparks, who are 3-0 against Houston this season and lead the Comets by 6 1/2 games in the Western Conference.

Sheryl Swoopes scored 15 points for the Comets, who lost at home for only the third time this season. Playing without injured starters Dominique Canty and Tina Thompson, the Comets fell to 1-6 in their last seven games.

The Sparks took the lead for good with 3:53 left when Holdsclaw’s layup made it 48-46.

Houston had two chances to tie the score with a three-point basket with less than 15 seconds left, but Dawn Staley and Swoopes missed badly.