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

Storm clinch No. 2 in conference

Associated Press

Janell Burse scored 17 points, and Lauren Jackson added 14 as the Seattle Storm beat the Sacramento Monarchs 76-63 Thursday night to extend their home winning streak to eight games.

The victory enabled the Storm to clinch second place in the Western Conference. Seattle improved to 13-3 at home – second best in the league – and will have home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Seattle’s opponent will not be determined until Saturday.

Iziane Castro Marques added 13 points and Sue Bird 12 for the Storm, who took the season series from Sacramento 2-1.

The Monarchs came in with a four-game winning streak, but fell a half-game behind Connecticut for the best record in the league.

Comets 80, Mercury 72: At Phoenix, Michelle Snow had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Tina Thompson scored 16 of her 18 points in the second half as Houston clinched a playoff berth with a win over Phoenix.

Houston has a 1 1/2 -game lead over Los Angeles for third place in the Western Conference with one game to play. The Sparks have two games left, including Saturday’s season finale at Houston.

Shock 55, Fever 40: At Auburn Hills, Mich., Cheryl Ford had 14 points and 10 rebounds as Detroit moved closer to the playoffs with a victory over Indiana.

The victory means Detroit will get the fourth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot if Washington loses to Connecticut today or if the Shock beat Washington on Saturday.

Indiana is locked into the East’s second seed.

Sting 78, Liberty 66: At New York, Charlotte won on the road for the first time this season, getting 24 points from Sheri Sam and 17 from Tammy Sutton-Brown in a victory over New York.

Charlotte, which lost its first 16 road games, closed with a 24-8 run to avoid becoming the second team in WNBA history to finish winless away from home. The 1998 Washington Mystics lost all 15 road games.

Becky Hammon scored 20 points and Vickie Johnson had 16 for New York, which has lost consecutive games after winning a season-high five straight.