Storm fall to Houston
Tina Thompson scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Houston Comets to a 68-60 win over the Seattle Storm on Saturday night in Sheryl Swoopes’ return to Houston.
Shannon Johnson added 12 points, and Michelle Snow grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds for the Comets (2-7), who outrebounded Seattle 46-30.
Lauren Jackson led the way for Seattle (7-5) with 18 points. Tanisha Wright added 14 points for the Storm, who were without Yolanda Griffith because of left knee and ankle injuries.
Playing in her first game in Houston since leaving as a free agent in the off-season, Swoopes made just three of her 10 shots and scored eight points for the Storm, who have lost five straight road games.
Hamchetou Maiga-Ba added nine points and Mwadi Mabika had seven for the Comets.
Sue Bird made a driving layup with 1:40 to go to get the Storm within 59-55, but Thompson answered with an off-balance 3-pointer as the shot clock expired.
Houston then made six of its final seven free throws in the last 27 seconds to seal the win.
Seattle held Houston to 13 points in the second quarter and pulled to within 27-25 with less than a minute to go in the half when Swoopes made a pair of free throws. But the Comets took a four-point lead into the break as Sancho Lyttle made a layup just before the buzzer.
Houston started the third quarter with a 12-5 run to take its biggest lead of the game at 41-30 before the Storm rallied with a 7-0 run.
Local makes mark
Leilani Mitchell might soon help New York Liberty fans forget about Becky Hammon.
Barely a month into her rookie season, it may be too early to compare Mitchell with the 10th-year veteran Hammon – who finished second in the MVP voting with San Antonio in 2007.
Mitchell, however, has already shown glimpses of her potential – abilities known to area people who saw her play at Kennewick High and the University of Idaho before transferring to Utah.
With regular starter Loree Moore sidelined with back spasms, Mitchell started three straight games for the Liberty. She scored 18 points on 6-for-6 shooting from the field, including three 3-pointers, and had seven assists in New York’s win over Houston on June 6. In the next two games, she totaled four points on 1 for 5 shooting but has had 13 assists – including a team season-high eight against Sacramento.
“She takes very good care of the ball,” Moore said. “She’s very knowledgeable of the game and picking her spots and things like that. She reads the defense really well.”
Overall, Mitchell was averaging 4.0 points, 3.8 assists and 17.0 minutes in eight games entering the weekend.
At 5-foot-5, Mitchell’s size might initially remind people of the 5-6 Hammon, a Liberty fan favorite who was traded to the Silver Stars on draft day last year, but there are subtle differences.
“She’s more of a true point guard than Becky,” Liberty coach Pat Coyle said. “Becky played some point in college, but she was a scoring point guard. I think Leilani is a true point in the sense she makes shots when she needs to make shots, but I think she looks to pass first.”