Liberty’s Lobo Gets 100th Straight Win

WNBA

Sophia Witherspoon scored 14 points Wednesday night and the New York Liberty remained the only unbeaten team in the WNBA with a 70-67 victory over the Houston Comets, the 100th straight game Rebecca Lobo has played in without losing.

Lobo, who had nine points and five rebounds, has not played on a losing team since March 26, 1994, when Connecticut was beaten by North Carolina in the NCAA tournament in her junior year. The next season the Huskies went 35-0 in winning the national championship.

Lobo was a member of the U.S. national team that won 52 straight games and then won eight more on the way to the Olympic gold medal in Atlanta. Wednesday night’s victory was the fifth in as many games for the Liberty in the league’s inaugural season.

Cynthia Copper led the Comets (4-2) with 19 points, while Tina Thompson had 15.

Liberty 70, Comets 67 At New York

HOUSTON (67) - Thompson 6-10 1-1 15, Arcain 4-12 0-0 8, Guyton 3-7 0-0 6, Woosley 3-9 0-0 8, Cooper 6-12 6-7 19, Jackson 0-1 0-0 0, Perrot 1-1 0-0 3, Harris 1-2 2-4 5, Pollini 1-2 1-2 3. Totals 25-56 10-14 67.

NEW YORK (70) - Lobo 3-11 3-4 9, Johnson 4-14 1-2 9, Hampton 2-8 4-6 8, Weatherspoon 4-7 4-4 12, Witherspoon 6-9 1-4 14, Trice 4-4 1-2 10, Ford 1-5 2-2 4, Blades 0-1 0-0 0, Wicks 1-3 2-2 4. Totals 25-62 18-26 70.

3-Point goals-Houston 7-16 (Thompson 2-3, Woosley 2-7, Perrot 1-1, Harris 1-1, Cooper 1-3, Arcain 0-1), New York 2-9 (Trice 1-1, Witherspoon 1-3, Johnson 0-1, Weatherspoon 0-1, Blades 0-1, Lobo 0-2). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Houston 38 (Cooper 7), New York 42 (Hampton 9). Assists-Houston 15 (Cooper 6), New York 13 (Weatherspoon 6). Total fouls-Houston 22, New York 19. A-8,792.

Starzz 73, Monarchs 68 (OT) At Sacramento, Calif.

Dena Head hit five free throws in the final 47 seconds of overtime to lift Utah to a victory over Sacramento.

Head scored seven of her 11 points in overtime as the Starzz improved to 2-3.

Wendy Palmer had 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Elena Baranova added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Starzz.

Ruthie Bolton-Holifield scored 20 points and Bridgette Gordon added 18 to lead the Monarchs (2-3). Chantel Tremitiere had 10 assists.

The lead changed hands several times until Utah scored nine unanswered points to make it 51-46 with 10:26 to play.

The Monarchs answered with a pair of 3-pointers by Tremitiere and Bolton-Holifield to go ahead 59-57 with 4:47 left.

The Starzz missed 11 of their first 12 shots, before hitting 14-of-24 to take a 34-33 halftime lead.

The game drew 6,156 fans at ARCO Arena.

UTAH (73) - Palmer 8-19 2-6 18, Carter 2-4 0-0 4, Baranova 7-15 2-2 17, Head 3-4 5-6 11, Williams 3-9 0-0 6, Reiss 1-4 0-0 3, Booker 2-3 1-2 5, Hardmon 3-9 1-1 7, Hicks 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 30-71 11-17 73.

SACRAMENTO (68) - Gordon 8-18 2-2 18, Mosley-McAfee 2-6 0-0 4, McGee 4-13 0-0 8, Bolton-Holifield 8-22 0-0 20, Tremitiere 3-8 1-2 7, Yasen 1-1 0-0 2, Abraham 3-6 0-0 6, Hagiwara 0-1 1-2 1, Graves 0-0 0-0 0, Byears 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 30-76 4-6 68.

Halftime score: Utah 73-68. 3-Point goals-Utah 2-6 (Baranova 1-2, Reiss 1-2, Palmer 0-1, Williams 0-1), Sacramento 4-19 (BoltonHolifield 4-14, Hagiwara 0-1, Gordon 0-4). Fouled out-BoltonHolifield. Rebounds-Utah 55 (Palmer 11), Sacramento 40 (Mosley-McAfee 9). Assists-Utah 18 (Williams 5), Sacramento 20 (Tremitiere 10). Total fouls-Utah 13, Sacramento 17. A-6,156 (17,317).