HOUSTON, August 3 (AP) -- Tina Thompson scored 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Houston Comets to a 66-56 win over the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday night.

The Sparks opened the fourth quarter by outscoring Houston 7-3 and closed the gap to two on Taj McWilliams-Franklin's layup with 7:19 remaining. The Comets went on a 9-2 run to increase their lead to 61-52 on two Tamecka Dixon free throws with 2:21 remaining.

McWilliams-Franklin hit a free throw with 1:30 left to cut the lead to eight, but Michelle Snow hit a fadeaway jumper with 1:06 remaining to extend the Comets' lead to 10.

Mwadi Mabika hit a three-pointer to cut Houston's lead to 63-56, but Dixon hit two free throws to extend the lead to nine and seal the win with 30 seconds to go.

The Comets (9-18) took their largest lead of the game in the third quarter on Crystal Smith's jumper that made it 43-31 with 2:54 left in the period.

After the teams traded baskets, Los Angeles (9-17) ended the third quarter on a 6-0 run capped by Kiesha Brown's layup with 19 seconds left to cut the lead to 45-39.

Houston led 31-25 at the half after leading by 11 in the second quarter (24-13) after Erin Grant's jumper with 4:28 left.

Dixon added 12 points off the bench, and Snow had nine points and 14 rebounds. Mabika led the Sparks with 10 points.

Both teams shot poorly with Los Angeles hitting 28.6 percent, and Houston hitting just 32.8 percent from the field.