Swoopes blocked a jumper by Lauren Jackson with eight seconds remaining and Dominique Canty made two free throws down the stretch as the Houston Comets pulled into a tie for second place in the Western Conference with a 75-72 victory over the Seattle Storm.
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The top scorer in the league at 18.8 points per game, Swoopes preserved a 73-70 lead with her second block of the game. She is a three-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year.
Seattle (16-13), which entered the contest with a one-game lead over Houston in the West, retained possession but All-Star guard Sue Bird badly missed a jumper off an inbounds pass with five seconds left before Canty converted a pair at the line two seconds later to extend the lead to 75-70.
Bird, who scored all 14 of her points in the second half, made a driving layup as time expired to close the scoring.
Swoopes, who had a career-high 34 points in Tuesday's loss, scored 23 points and handed out four assists as the Comets snapped a three-game losing streak.
Michelle Snow chipped in 20 points and Tina Thompson added 11 for Houston.
Jackson, the league's second-leading scorer, totaled 18 points and Janell Burse chipped in 15 and 11 rebounds for Seattle, which went 2-2 vs. Houston.