WASHINGTON, July 23 (Ticker) -- Lauren Jackson had 18 points and 11 rebounds as the Seattle Storm held on for a 73-71 triumph over the Washington Mystics, who wasted a huge game from All-Star Alana Beard.

Betty Lennox contributed 14 points and five assists for Seattle (13-12), which is one game in front of Phoenix for the Western Conference's final playoff spot. The Storm visit the Mercury on Tuesday.

Jackson made just 5-of-15 shots but converted 8-of-9 free throws.

Chasity Melvin made two free throws with 3:33 remaining to give the Mystics a 60-59 lead. It was their first lead since 2-0.

But Iziane Castro Marques scored five points in an 8-4 surge that gave the Storm the lead for good. Marques scored a career-high 26 points in Saturday's rout of New York.

Coco Miller found Laurie Koehn for an open 3-pointer with nine seconds left to pull the Mystics within 71-69. However, Barbara Turner made two free throws three seconds later to seal Seattle's second straight win following a three-game losing streak.

All-Star Sue Bird scored 12 points for Seattle, which shot 37 percent (24-of-64) from the field and forced 17 turnovers.

Melvin scored 12 points and DeLisha Milton-Jones contributed 11, eight rebounds and matched a career high with five blocks for the Mystics, who shot 41 percent (29-of-70).