Comets 72, Starzz 68
Game 14: At Compaq Center Saturday night
Utah 45 23 - 68
Houston 40 32 - 72
First half: After being down by five in most of the early going, the Starzz take their first lead at 17-16 on a basket and free throw from Margo Dydek, who is fouled on an inbounds play. Houston comes back to tie at 27, but Utah eventually leads by seven on Wendy Palmer's free throws with 1:40 left. Tammi Reiss re-injures her sprained ankle and is carried off the court with 1:40 left in the half. Palmer finishes with 16 points in the half, including 8-of-8 from the line.
Second half: Utah scores the first four points of the half on a Chantel Tremitiere layin and Dydek free throws to boost the lead to 11 points, tying its best margin against Houston in the double-overtime game, won by the Comets 58-56 on June 30. But Houston rushes back with a 10-0 run that becomes 18-2, with Swoopes scoring 10 points in the first nine minutes. Utah does not die, holding Houston scoreless for three minutes. Palmer's tip-in of her own miss cuts the deficit to 67-66 with just over three minutes left. But a Swoopes basket going over the 7-2 Dydek, five straight missed Starzz shot attempts and three of four free throws from Cynthia Cooper give Houston its eighth straight win.
Records: Starzz 4-10, Comets 13-1
Quotable: "I don't think we ever think we're going to lose. We kind of just weather the storm." - Houston's Tina Thompson, on Utah's 11-point leads in both this game and Houston's double-overtime, two-point win June 30 in the Delta Center.
Next up: Detroit, 7 p.m. Monday at the Delta Center