A pair of teams that were cooled off by the WNBA's month-long Olympic break meet Tuesday night when the New York Liberty visit the Houston Comets.

New York (15-12) won three straight and six of seven before the break, while Houston (14-14) was on a five-game winning streak before the hiatus started in late July. Both teams, however, are 0-2 since returning to action.

The Liberty fell 69-60 at home to Chicago on Thursday and 83-69 at Detroit the following night. The Comets have lost a pair of road games, 66-49 to Seattle on Thursday and 80-65 to Sacramento on Saturday.

With seven games remaining in its season, New York is in third place in the Eastern Conference, three games behind first-place Connecticut and 2 1/2 up on fourth-place Indiana. Houston is on the outside of the playoff picture, trailing fourth-place Sacramento by 1 1/2 games in the West with six games left.

The Liberty led the Shock 38-35 at halftime on Friday behind 13 points from Janel McCarville, but Detroit outscored New York 31-14 in the third. McCarville led the Liberty with 21 points and Shameka Christon added 16 for New York.

"We were in that game and one quarter killed us," New York coach Pat Coyle said. "We've lost 12 games this year, and I'd venture that 11 of them are because of the third quarter. It's something that we have to address."

Houston had its own problems in the third quarter against the Monarchs on Saturday, getting outscored 30-14 after trailing by just three points at the half.

"Sacramento came out with a sense of urgency," Houston coach Karleen Thompson said. "We didn't execute and their defense made it uncomfortable for us. They were the aggressors tonight."

U.S. Olympic star Tina Thompson got into foul trouble early and finished with 12 points and seven rebounds for the Comets. Shannon Johnson had 12 points and five assists, but committed six of Houston's 21 turnovers.

The Comets play four of their six remaining games at home, where they've won eight straight, as they try to get back to the postseason after matching their franchise-worst record (13-21) and missing the playoffs for just the second time last year.

"That's how tight it is in the West, one night you win and you're in the playoffs and the next one you lose and you're not," Karleen Thompson said.

New York beat Houston 81-73 at Madison Square Garden on June 6 behind 19 points from Christon. Tina Thompson had 28 points and 10 rebounds in that game for the Comets.