Swoopes, Baby Watch As Comets Clean Up
WNBA
Inspired by the sideline presence of teammate Sheryl Swoopes, Tina Thompson scored a season-high 15 points and had 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the WNBA season as Houston routed Sacramento 89-61 on Saturday at Houston.
The Comets led throughout, producing their best offensive performance of the season.
Shooting 57 percent, Houston scored a season-high 53 points in the first half and finished with 89, also a season-best.
“The one big difference was that we were comfortable and not trying to please the crowd,” Thompson said. “We’re starting to come together, we’ve had some great practices and now we get word that Sheryl is coming back.
“We’re good now but with her we’ll be even better.”
Swoopes, a former Olympian who had a baby last month, said her goal is to return to the team by Aug. 1.
“My first priority, though, is to take care of my son, Jordan, but I can’t wait to play with my team,” she said.
Cynthia Cooper had 20 points, and point guards Kim Perrot and Tiffany Woosley-Addock had nine and eight, respectively. Cooper, Thompson and Perrot combined for seven 3-pointers.
Comets 89, Monarchs 61 At Houston
Sacramento (61) - Gordon 4-13 0-0 8, Mosley-McAfee 2-2 0-0 4, Abraham 0-3 0-0 0, Bolton-Holifield 5-11 2-2 14, Tremitiere 3-12 0-0 7, Byears 3-4 1-2 7, McGee 2-5 5-6 9, Hagiwara 2-5 0-0 6, Graves 0-1 0-0 0, Yasen 3-6 0-0 6. Totals 24-62 8-10 61.
Houston (89) - Arcain 6-9 0-0 13, Thompson 7-11 0-0 15, Guyton 5-7 2-4 12, Perrot 3-6 0-2 9, Cooper 7-15 4-6 20, Harris 2-5 1-2 6, Jackson 1-2 0-0 2, Woosley 3-7 1-1 8, Pollini 1-2 0-0 2, Moore 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 35-65 10-17 89.
Sacramento 28 33 -61
Houston 53 36 -89
3-point goals-Sacramento 5-15 (Hagiwara 2-4, Bolton-Holifield 2-6, Tremitiere 1-4, Gordon 0-1), Houston 9-21 (Perrot 3-4, Cooper 2-5, Arcain 1-2, Thompson 1-3, Harris 1-3, Woosley 1-4). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Sacramento 37 (Bolton-Holifield 8), Houston 40 (Thompson 10). Assists-Sacramento 13 (Tremitiere 5), Houston 23 (Cooper 8). Total fouls- Sacramento 14, Houston 12. A-7,751.
Sting 72, Rockers 43 At Charlotte, N.C.
Reserve center Rhonda Mapp led all scorers with 14 points as Charlotte used a key second-half run to easily defeat cold-shooting Cleveland.
Cleveland (43) - Nemcova 4-13 3-4 11, Fijalkowski 3-7 0-0 6, Braxton 1-10 2-5 4, Woodard 4-11 0-0 8, Nicholson 0-0 0-0 0, Jones 2-11 1-2 5, Brown 2-4 2-6 6, Johnson 0-4 0-0 0, Alberts 0-1 0-0 0, Maxwell 1-2 1-2 3. Totals 17-63 9-19 43.
Charlotte (72) - Moore 1-7 0-0 2, Bullett 5-11 0-2 11, Manning 4-6 0-2 8, Levesque 2-3 0-0 5, Stinson 6-12 1-2 13, Mapp 5-8 4-4 14, Congreaves 2-5 0-0 4, Williams 1-1 1-2 4, Suber 1-4 4-4 6, Artis 2-2 1-3 5. Totals 29-59 11-19 72.
Cleveland 21 22 - 43
Charlotte 27 45 - 72
3-point goals-Cleveland 0-8 (Fijalkowski 0-1, Alberts 0-1, Nemcova 0-2, Woodard 0-2, Johnson 0-2), Charlotte 3-10 (Bullett 1-1, Williams 1-1, Levesque 1-2, Moore 0-2, Stinson 0-2, Suber 0-2). Fouled out-Fijalkowski. Rebounds- Cleveland 38 (Braxton, Brown 8), New York 56 (Congreaves 9). Assists-Cleveland 10 (Nemcova, Woodard 3), Charlotte 21 (Levesque 5). Total fouls-Cleveland 16, Charlotte 17. A-6,166.
Starzz 52, Mercury 51 At Salt Lake City
Wendy Palmer made two free throws with 3.9 seconds left as Utah snapped a four-game losing streak.
Phoenix (51) - Webb 1-8 0-0 2, Foster 6-10 1-2 14, Gillom 4-12 0-0 8, Pettis 4-12 2-2 13, Timms 4-11 3-3 12, Lieberman-Cline 0-4 0-0 0, Askamp 0-2 2-2 2, Jackson 0-1 0-0 0, Tuter 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-60 8-9 51.
Utah (52) - Hardmon 0-3 1-2 1, Palmer 6-15 2-2 15, Baranova 4-8 2-2 10, Williams 5-10 3-4 13, Reiss 4-8 1-4 11, Hicks 0-1 0-0 0, Booker 0-2 0-0 0, Head 1-3 0-0 2, Carter 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-51 9-14 52.
Phoenix 18 33 - 51
Utah 31 21 - 52
3-Point goals-Phoenix 5-17 (Pettis 3-7, Foster 1-1, Timms 1-4, Lieberman-Cline 0-2, Gillom 0-3), Utah 3-9 (Reiss 2-5, Palmer 1-2, Williams 0-1, Head 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Phoenix 35 (Foster 7), Utah 43 (Palmer 10). Assists-Phoenix 10 (Webb 3), Utah 17 (Hardmon 6). Total fouls-Phoenix 16, Utah 14. A-7,076.