SALT LAKE CITY, July 3 (Ticker) -- Janeth Arcain is proving to be as valuable a third option on the Houston Comets as Cynthia Cooper used to be.

Arcain scored 23 points to join a pair of other teammates with more than 20 as the Comets rolled to their eighth straight victory, 78-67 over the Utah Starzz.

The Comets won the WNBA's first four championships behind the unstoppable trio of Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson. Cooper, a two-time MVP, retired before last season and Arcain has stepped up to fill the void.

Arcain made 10-of-19 shots and handed out six assists for Houston, which is riding its longest winning streak since a nine-game run from May 31-June 27, 2001. Swoopes scored 22 points and Thompson added 20 and nine rebounds.

Utah led by as many as nine points and took a 40-33 halftime advantage. The Comets started the second half with an 11-2 run and grabbed a 44-42 lead on Tiffani Johnson's basket with 16:14 remaining.

Back-to-back buckets by Marie Ferdinand gave Utah its final lead at 46-44 before Houston used another huge run. Swoopes had five points and Arcain added four, including a layup that capped the 13-0 spurt for a 57-46 cushion with 11:19 to play.

Ferdinand scored 16 points and Adrienne Goodson added 15 for Utah, which lost for just the second time in seven games. The Starzz fell to 3-16 all-time against Houston.