Comets cruise behind Swoopes

Sheryl Swoopes scored 29 points and Tina Thompson added 19 to lead the Houston Comets to a 60-53 victory over Charlotte in the Sting’s season-opener Friday night in Charlotte, N.C.

Swoopes and Thompson combined for all but 12 of Houston’s points as the Comets (1-1) bounced back from Thursday’s season-opening loss to San Antonio.

Swoopes, limited to eight points on 4-of-13 shooting Thursday, scored eight straight points to give Houston a 38-32 lead with 11:38 left.

Andea Stinson scored 13 points for the Sting (0-1), who shot 37 percent and were outrebounded 27-20 in losing their second straight opener.

Fever 69, Liberty 67: At Indianapolis, Kelly Miller scored 18 points and Natalie Williams finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds, leading Indiana to a victory over New York in the opener for both teams .

Kristen Rasmussen made two free throws with 10.4 seconds remaining to give the Fever a 69-64 lead before the Liberty’s Crystal Robinson made a 3-pointer at the buzzer.