16,285 Watch Houston Win

Janeth Arcain scored 23 points Tuesday night as the Houston Comets beat the Phoenix Mercury 70-55 in their WNBA home opener before the largest U.S. crowd ever to watch a women’s professional basketball game.

The crowd of 16,285 - the previous record was 16,102 at Sunday’s game in Phoenix between the Mercury and the Charlotte Sting - gave the Comets (2-0) a warm welcome on the floor that is also home to the NBA Rockets.

The Rockets helped with the welcome, too. Charles Barkley presented a dozen roses to each Comets player before the game.

The Comets started slowly in the first half, falling behind 11-4 in the opening minutes. But they recovered for a 34-24 halftime lead and met the challenge in the second half when Phoenix cut Houston’s lead to 38-37 with 15:26 to play.

Mercury 70, Comets 55

Phoenix (55) - Webb 1-5 4-5 6, Foster 4-7 5-8 13, Gillom 3-9 1-2 7, Pettis 2-11 1-1 5, Timms 4-10 3-7 12, Lieberman-Cline 0-3 0-0 0, Askamp 4-6 2-3 10, Williams 1-2 0-0 2, Ambers 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-53 16-26 55.

Houston (70) - Arcain 7-11 9-10 23, Thompson 3-13 2-2 8, Guyton 2-2 0-0 4, Cooper 2-11 8-9 13, Perrot 1-2 3-4 5, Woosley 3-9 0-1 7, Jackson 3-4 0-0 6, Harris 0-1 0-0 0, Pollini 1-3 2-2 4, Gay 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-56 24-28 70.

Halftime-Houston 34, Phoenix 24.3-Point goals-Phoenix 1-10 (Timms 1-4, Gillom 0-1, Lieberman-Cline 0-2, Pettis 0-3), Houston 2-9 (Cooper 1-4, Woosley 1-4, Thompson 0-1). Fouled out-Pettis. Rebounds-Phoenix 37 (Webb, Foster, Askamp 5), Houston 46 (Arcain 8). Assists-Phoenix 12 (Webb 4), Houston 10 (Cooper 3). Total fouls- Phoenix 26, Houston 27. Technical-Phoenix coach Miller. A-16,285.