In danger of losing their sixth straight game, the Washington Mystics turned to Alana Beard and she helped end the skid. The Mystics will likely need similar production from their All-Star guard to truly turn around their season.

Beard and the Mystics look to build on a strong finish in their last game as they try to sweep their season series against the Houston Comets on Wednesday night when the clubs meet in Houston.

Beard scored 13 of her team-high 22 points in the fourth quarter as Washington (3-7) beat Chicago 64-57 on Friday night. The fifth-year guard from Duke made three 3-pointers in the final two minutes, including one that gave Washington a six-point lead with 14.7 seconds remaining.

"Alana had been pressing the whole game," Mystics coach Tree Rollins said. "She was able to sort it out, in the fourth quarter especially. She found that (3-point) line and she was the great player that we know Alana is. She got us the win."

The Mystics' first road win of the year was also their first victory in six games since beating expansion Atlanta 80-74 on May 27. Beard, leading Washington in scoring for the fourth straight season with 19.6 points per game, hopes the win will help her team relax as it tries to climb back into playoff contention.

"I feel like it's my job to hit big shots," she said. "It's been 16 days since a win. It feels really good and takes a lot of stress off me in particular."

Beard scored 16 points to lead the Mystics to a 69-66 home win over the Comets (3-7) on May 25. Washington has never won multiple games against Houston in a single season, and hasn't gone undefeated against the Comets in a season since winning the teams' only meeting in 2002.

Houston's loss in Washington in May was part of its 1-7 start, but the Comets have rebounded by winning back-to-back games to start their three-game homestand. After a 68-60 victory over Seattle on Saturday, Houston got a season-high 18 points and 13 rebounds from Michelle Snow in an 88-79 win over Atlanta on Monday night.

That victory was the third in four home games for the Comets in their first season at Reliant Arena. They were 7-10 at home in 2007, when they played their home games at the Toyota Center.

The Comets have won their last two home games against the Mystics by an average of 8.5 points since their last home loss in the series July 21, 2005.

Five-time All-Star forward Tina Thompson, who has three double-doubles in her last five games, has averaged 18.0 points and 8.3 boards in her last three games against Washington.