Sacramento 87, Washington 81 (F)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. July 1 (AP) -- Ticha Penicheiro scored 17 points and had eight assists Tuesday night, helping the Sacramento Monarchs hold off the Washington Mystics for a 87-81 victory.

Penicheiro made two huge baskets down the stretch. After Monique Currie made a 3-pointer from the corner to tie the game at 75 for Washington with 1:43 left, Penicheiro put the Monarchs ahead for good with twisting drive to the basket.

Following a 24-second violation by Washington, Penicheiro made a clutch 13-footer in the lane for a 79-75 lead with 44 seconds remaining.

Kara Lawson scored 13 points for the Monarchs and, Rebekkah Brunson and Scholanda Robinson both had 12 points.

Alana Beard scored 31 points for the Mystics (6-10), Currie had 17 points and seven assists, while Nakia Stanford added 10 points.

The victory was the second straight for Sacramento and completes another two-game sweep of the Mystics, who have lost eight straight to the Monarchs dating back to September 2004.

The win gave the Monarchs (8-8) a sweep of their brief homestand and got them out of a last-place tie in the Western Conference with Houston, which lost to Connecticut.

Washington, which was coming off its lowest scoring game of the season in a 64-49 loss Sunday in Seattle, has lost two straight and three of four.

The Monarchs quickly took control of the game to start the third period. Adrian Williams-Strong scored six points and Lawson added five during a 14-2 run that gave Sacramento an 11-point lead midway through the quarter. They led 64-58 heading into the fourth.

Despite being outplayed in the second quarter, the Monarchs managed to take a 44-43 lead into halftime. Brunson and Robinson scored 10 points for Sacramento, while Beard had 13 for Washington.

Brunson helped the Monarchs get off to a quick start in the opening quarter. She made all four shots and had eight points and four rebounds as Sacramento took a 24-17 lead.