SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 17 (Ticker) -- Kara Lawson's big second half helped the Sacramento Monarchs top the Seattle Storm once again.

Lawson scored 13 of her 16 points after halftime as the Monarchs posted just their second win in five games, a 76-74 victory over the Storm.

NBA TV highlights from Storm-Monarchs: Play

The defending champion, Sacramento ended the month of May on a high note with an impressive 87-66 victory here over Seattle. However, the club struggled after that, losing three of its next four games - including a 73-66 road setback against the Houston Comets on Wednesday.

Those struggles continued in this one as the Monarchs fell behind by nine points in the second quarter. A former Tennessee standout, Lawson helped bring the team back by scoring seven points in the third, cutting the deficit to 55-53.

Sacramento took the lead to open the fourth, but Seattle - the 2004 champion - hung tough, closing within 56-54 on a layup by Tanisha Wright with 7:52 to play. That would be the last field goal for the Storm, who shot 2-of-12 from the floor in the final stanza.

Nicole Powell hit a jumper for a 61-58 edge with 6:33 to play and Lawson and Erin Buescher both scored four points during an 8-0 run that made it 75-70 with 40 seconds remaining.

However, Seattle rookie Barbara Turner was fouled while attempting a 3-pointer and made all three free throws to make it 75-73. After Powell split a pair from the line, Turner was fouled on an offensive rebound. She made the first before intentionally missing the second, but the Storm were unable to come up the rebound.

Buescher scored 14 points and Ticha Penicheiro added 12 for the Monarchs, who held a commanding 42-18 advantage in points in the paint despite just eight from top scorer Yolanda Griffith.

Betty Lennox scored a season-high 23 points and Lauren Jackson had 17 and nine rebounds for Seattle, which had a two-game winning streak snapped and ended its five-game road trip at 2-3.