SEATTLE—Lauren Jackson scored 19 of her 25 points in the second half to overcome a horrible shooting start and Seattle’s defense stymied the high-powered Phoenix Mercury in the Storm’s 89-78 win on Thursday.

Jackson missed her first 11 shots before making a field goal midway through the third quarter. She finished 6-of-19 and was 12 of 12 at the free throw line, as Seattle won its fifth straight.

Swin Cash added 14, and Sue Bird and Tanisha Wright both scored 11 as the Storm (13-7) improved to 11-1 at home.

Cappie Pondexter led the Mercury (9-10) with 20 points and Diana Taurasi added 16, but went more than 11 minutes without scoring as Seattle took control late in the third quarter. The top two scorers in the WNBA were a combined 12 of 34 shooting.



Silver Stars 75, Sky 67

CHICAGO—Ann Wauters scored 23 points and San Antonio ran the WNBA’s longest active winning streak to six games.

San Antonio (14-6) owns the best record in the league. Chicago (5-12) has lost three straight and eight of last 10.

Wauters scored 17 in the first half for the Silver Stars, who took a 39-29 halftime lead.

The Sky never got closer than eight points in the final quarter, despite outscoring San Antonio 23-10.

Jia Perkins paced the Sky with 17 points. Candace Dupree had 13 and Dominique Canty scored 12.

Monarchs 87, Sparks 69

SACRAMENTO, Calif.—Nicole Powell scored 24 points for Sacramento, which pulled away in the second half against Los Angeles.

Sacramento matched its season-high point total and broke open a close game in the third quarter. The Monarchs (9-11) outscored the Sparks 29-11 to take a 15-point lead, and snapped their three-game losing streak.

Ticha Penicheiro had 15 points and nine assists, and Kara Lawson, chosen to the U.S. Olympic team earlier in the day, scored 10 of her 13 points in the third quarter.

Rookie Candace Parker had 14 points, 11 rebounds and six assists for Los Angeles (12-7), which committed 27 turnovers. Parker had combined for 71 points in her previous two games.

Marie Ferdinand-Harris scored 12 points for the Sparks and Sidney Spencer had 11. Lisa Leslie finished with seven points and four rebounds.