Jackson’s 27 points lead way in Storm win

Lauren Jackson scored 27 points to lead the Seattle Storm to an 86-78 win over Washington on Thursday night and snap the Mystics’ four-game winning streak.

The 6-foot-5 Jackson, the league’s top shooter at 53.8 percent, was 7 for 12 from the field while constantly drawing double and triple teams. Jackson made all 13 free-throw attempts.

Iziane Castro Marques scored 22 points and Janell Burse added 18 – 11 in the third quarter. Storm point guard Sue Bird had 13 points, eight assists and eight rebounds.

Alana Beard led Washington with 23 points.

Seattle (16-14), which led 12-1 to start the game, snapped a four-game home losing streak, dating to July 14.

Sun 72, Sparks 63: At Uncasville, Conn., Taj McWilliams-Franklin scored 22 points to match her season high and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Connecticut past Los Angeles in a meeting of the league’s top teams.

Fever 69, Lynx 59: At Indianapolis, Tamika Whitmore scored 18 points and Tamika Catchings added 17 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four steals as Indiana beat Minnesota.

Liberty 75, Shock 67: At New York, Barbara Farris scored 17 points as New York used a 21-4 run in the third quarter for an easy win over Detroit.

Monarchs 87, Silver Stars 69: At San Antonio, Yolanda Griffith scored a season-high 23 points to help defending champion Sacramentoearn a playoff spot.

Mercury 112, Sting 84: At Phoenix, Diana Taurasi scored 25 points to help keep Phoenix’s playoff hopes alive in a win over Charlotte. Phoenix (13-16) is in fifth place in the Western Conference.