Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Cleveland, Charlotte Both Earn Road Wins

From Wire Reports

WNBA

Janice Braxton’s free throw with less than a second left in the game gave the Cleveland Rockers a 76-75 victory over the Houston Comets Thursday night in Houston.

Braxton was sent to the line after she was fouled by Tina Thompson. She missed the first of two shots before nailing the game-winner to keep playoff hopes alive for the Rockers.

The Comets, who still hold a 1-1/2-game lead over second-place New York in the WNBA’s Eastern Conference, had won seven of their previous eight games.

The Rockers used an 11-0 run midway through the first half and opened a 40-36 halftime lead.

Michelle Edwards led Cleveland with 15 points, while Merlakia Jones added 13 points. Issabelle Fijalkowski had 12.

Kim Perrot, scoreless in her last game, led the Comets with 18 points, all but three on 3-pointers. Cynthia Cooper, the league’s leading scorer at 22.4 points per game, was held to 15 points on 4-for-15 shooting, although she did have nine assists.

Sheryl Swoopes, whose recent return to the Comets just six weeks after giving birth to a son, finished 1 of 8 from the field and scored only two points in 17 minutes of play.

Rockers 76, Comets 75

At Houston

CLEVELAND (76) - Nemcova 4-5 0-0 9, Braxton 4-10 1-2 10, Fijalkowski 4-8 4-6 12, Edwards 6-14 3-4 15, Woodard 1-4 2-4 4, Brown 4-4 5-6 13, Jones 5-6 0-0 10, Nicholson 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 29-52 15-22 76.

HOUSTON (75) - Arcain 5-11 0-0 12, Thompson 4-10 2-2 11, Guyton 3-3 4-7 10, Cooper 4-15 7-9 15, Perrot 6-8 1-2 18, Swoopes 1-8 0-0 2, Jackson 2-3 0-0 4, Woosley 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 26-59 14-20 75.

Halftime-Cleveland 40, Houston 36. 3-Point goals-Cleveland 3-5, (Braxton 1-1, Nicholson 1-1, Nemcova 1-2, Edwards 0-1), Houston 9-22, (Perrot 5-6, Arcain 2-4, Woosley 1-1, Thompson 1-3, Swoopes 0-2, Cooper 0-6). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Cleveland 36 (Braxton, Woodard 5), Houston 33 (Guyton 10). Assists-Cleveland 9 (Braxton, Fijalkowski 3), Houston 13 (Cooper 9). Total fouls-Cleveland 20, Houston 20. A-9,631.

Sting 66, Starzz 56

At Salt Lake City

Vicky Bullett and Andrea Stinson each scored 14 points to lead Charlotte over Utah.

Wendy Palmer led the Starzz with 20 points and 14 rebounds.

Charlotte broke a 3-3 tie with a 16-5 run and went on to take a 29-25 lead at halftime.

Utah tied it at 29 and 33 in the second half before Stinson came alive after being held to three first-half points.

Charlotte is battling for a playoff position. It is tied with Cleveland at 14-12 in the Eastern Conference and owns the tie-breaker three games to one.

CHARLOTTE (66) - Congreaves 2-7 3-4 8, Bullett 5-13 4-4 14, Mapp 6-11 0-0 12, Stinson 5-16 3-4 14, Levesque 3-4 1-2 9, Suber 1-1 0-0 3, Manning 3-7 0-0 6, Moore 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-60 11-14 66.

UTAH (56) - Koss 0-2 0-0 0, Palmer 7-20 4-5 20, Baranova 5-16 0-0 11, Hardmon 0-2 0-0 0, Reiss 1-9 2-4 5, Hicks 2-6 0-0 4, Head 4-8 1-1 10, Williams 1-5 0-0 3, Carter 1-3 0-0 3, Booker 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-72 7-10 56.

Halftime-Charlotte 29, Utah 25. 3-Point goals-Charlotte 5-12 (Levesque 2-3, Suber 1-1, Congreaves 1-3, Stinson 1-3, Bullett 0-1, Moore 0-1), Utah 7-25 (Palmer 2-6, Carter 1-2, Head 1-3, Williams 1-3, Baranova 1-5, Reiss 1-6). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Charlotte 45 (Mapp 9), Utah 47 (Palmer 14). Assists-Charlotte 16 (Mapp, Levesque 4), Utah 15 (Palmer, Baranova, Reiss, Head 3). Total fouls-Charlotte 14, Utah 13. A-8,148.