HOUSTON, June 28 (Ticker) -- The streaking Houston Comets kept the defending champions reeling. Sheryl Swoopes had 21 points, nine assists and five rebounds as the Comets posted their third straight victory, a 71-67 triumph over the Seattle Storm.

The loss was the third in four games for the Storm (7-7).

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Houston (7-5) took command on consecutive hoops by Michelle Snow, who had 11 points and 11 rebounds, Janeth Arcain and Dominique Canty for a 64-59 lead with 3:06 left.

The Comets closed out the Storm from the foul line, converting 7-of-10, including four straight from Swoopes, over the final 76 seconds.

Canty scored 12 points and Arcain added 11 for Houston, which shot 41 percent (26-of-63) from the floor.

Suzy Batkovic scored 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting and Sue Bird added 13 and seven assists for Seattle, which rallied from a 14-point deficit to record a 79-69 win over Houston in their first meeting of the season on May 27.