Swoopes Scores 18 In 21 Minutes

WNBA

Sheryl Swoopes, in her first significant game action since giving birth seven weeks ago, scored 18 points in 21 minutes Tuesday night to lead the Houston Comets to a 76-56 victory over the Utah Starzz.

Cynthia Cooper, the WNBA’s leading scorer, was just off her average with 21 points, 18 in the second half, to lead the Comets (16-7).

But all eyes were on Swoopes, the Olympic gold medalist who was expected to be one of the fledgling league’s marquee players. She had her best performance of the four games she’s played since returning from maternity leave. She gave birth to a son on June 25 and returned to practice July 30.

Swoopes finished 7 for 13 from the field, including 2 for 4 from 3-point range, and had six rebounds and two assists.

“I was just excited to come back. I’ve been waiting for the moment and tonight was my night,” she said. “I’m just happy I scored more than two points.”

Comets 76, Starzz 56

Houston

Utah (56) - Koss 1-1 2-2 4, Palmer 7-15 4-8 18, Baranova 3-9 0-2 9, Reiss 3-7 1-1 8, Hardmon 4-8 0-0 8, Williams 2-8 0-2 5, Booker 0-0 0-0 0, Head 1-7 2-2 4. Totals 21-55 9-17 56.

Houston (76) - Arcain 2-5 4-4 8, Thompson 4-13 3-4 11, Guyton 2-5 0-0 4, Perrot 4-10 0-0 10, Cooper 7-14 6-7 21, Jackson 2-4 0-0 4, Harris 0-2 0-0 0, Woosley 0-0 0-0 0, Swoopes 7-13 2-2 18, Moore 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-67 15-17 76.

Halftime-Houston 35, Utah 31. 3-Point goals-Utah 5-14 (Baranova 3-5, Williams 1-2, Reiss 1-4, Palmer 0-1, Head 0-2), Houston 5-16 (Swoopes 2-4, Perrot 2-7, Cooper 1-2, Arcain 0-1, Thompson 0-2). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Utah 44 (Palmer 11), Houston 39 (Thompson, Guyton 7). Assists-Utah 10 (Hardmon 4), Houston 15 (Perrot 5). Total fouls-Utah 16, Houston 14. A-7,084.

Mercury 77, Liberty 67

Phoenix

Phoenix center Jennifer Gillom scored 23 points and guard Bridget Pettis sank nine free throws in the final 2:11 as the Mercury knocked New York out of the WNBA Eastern Division lead.

New York (67) - Lobo 1-6 2-2 4, Johnson 3-6 0-0 6, Hampton 4-8 6-10 14, Weatherspoon 0-4 0-0 0, Witherspoon 5-12 2-5 12, Trice 3-6 6-8 12, Ford 4-9 3-5 11, Blades 2-4 0-0 6, Wicks 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 23-56 19-30 67.

Phoenix (77) - Foster 1-6 1-1 3, Hagiwara 2-2 0-2 6, Gillom 10-16 1-2 23, Pettis 1-9 11-13 14, Timms 1-11 4-6 7, Askamp 4-6 8-8 16, Jackson 1-2 1-2 3, Webb 1-2 2-2 4, Williams 0-1 0-0 0, Ambers 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 21-55 29-38 77.

Halftime-Phoenix 40, New York 29. 3-Point goals-New York 2-11 (Blades 2-4, Lobo 0-1, Trice 0-1, Weatherspoon 0-2, Witherspoon 0-3), Phoenix 6-16 (Hagiwara 2-2, Gillom 2-2, Pettis 1-5, Timms 1-6, Jackson 0-1). Fouled out-Blades. Rebounds- New York 51 (Hampton 11), Phoenix 36 (Gillom 8). Assists-New York 14 (Weatherspoon 8), Phoenix 36 (Gillom 8). Total fouls-New York 27, Phoenix 22. Technicals-Witherspoon, Timms. A-16,371.

Monarchs 81, Rockers 76

Sacramento

Ruthie Bolton-Holifield had six 3-pointers and matched her season high with 34 points as Sacramento beat Cleveland, the Monarchs’ fourth straight victory after a nine-game losing streak.

Cleveland (76) - Fijalkowski 4-13 7-8 15 Nemcova 5-9 4-4 16 Brown 4-9 1-2 9 Woodard 1-3 0-0 2 Edwards 5-9 4-7 14 Jones 5-9 2-2 13 Maxwell 3-6 1-2 7 Boucek 0-0 0-0 0 Johnson 0-1 0-0 0 Totals 27-59 19-25 76 Sacramento (81) - Gordon 7-14 5-6 19 Byears 4-4 5-6 13 McGee 3-7 3-4 9 Bolton-Holifield 12-15 4-4 34 Tremitiere 0-8 2-2 2 Abraham 1-4 2-2 4 Yasen 0-3 0-2 0 Graves 0-0 0-2 0 Totals 27-55 21-28 81.

Halftime-Sacramento 41, Cleveland 36. 3-Point goals- Cleveland 3-6 (Nemcova 2-3, Jones 1-2, Edwards 0-1), Sacramento 6-12 (Bolton-Holifield 6-9, Tremitiere 0-1, Gordon 0-2). Fouled out-Fijalkowski. Rebounds-Cleveland 37 (Fijalkowski, Brown 9), Sacramento 36 (Byears 11). Assists-Cleveland 27 (Fijalkowski 5), Sacramento 16 (Byears, Tremitiere 4). Total fouls-Cleveland 23, Sacramento 22. A-6,706.