Lauren Jackson and Seattle improved to 3-2 with Friday's win over Phoenix. Jeff Reinking/NBAE/Getty Images WNBA Photo Gallery: June 2, 2006

Johnson GAME OF THE NIGHT They didn't get the result they wanted, but the Monarchs staged quite a rally in a 74-71 home loss to the Silver Stars. Sacramento nearly erased a 21-point second-half deficit, using an 11-1 run to get within four with 3:51 left. Kara Lawson scored five straight points to make it a one-point game, but San Antonio's Sophia Young came up with a huge block and Vickie Johnson sank a pair from the line with 15.8 seconds to play. Lawson missed two potential game-tying 3-pointers in the final five seconds as the Silver Stars improved to 3-0 on the road after going 2-15 away from home in 2005. ALSO MAKING HEADLINES ... Teacher Bests Pupil: It must've been odd for Sky rookie Candice Dupree to see college coach Dawn Staley on the court Friday, as opposed to the sidelines. In a WNBA first, a current player (Staley) faced an opponent (Dupree) she coached in the collegiate ranks. Dupree, who played for Staley at Temple University last season, had seven points and six boards in a 71-60 loss to the Comets. Thompson WHAT THEY'RE SAYING "We got out to the big lead, but they played us for the entire 40 minutes. There wasn't a time where we could let up tonight, and even though we were playing well offensively in the first half, they never stopped playing hard." -- Houston's Tina Thompson on her team's 71-60 win over the expansion Sky. The Comets have not trailed at any point in 15 consecutive quarters.

Jackson WHO'S HOT Lauren Jackson, SEA: 27 pts, 11-17 FG Cappie Pondexter, PHO: 30 pts, 11-20 FG Tamika Whitmore, IND: 26 pts, 11-19 FG

Johnson WHO'S NOT Shannon Johnson, SAN: 1-9 FG, 3 pts Rebekkah Brunson, SAC: 2-10 FG, 7 pts Michelle Snow, HOU: 2-9 FG, 5 pts

Augustus ROOKIE WATCH If anyone was wondering if Seimone Augustus was truly worthy of being the top overall selection in the 2006 Draft, there's no questioning it now. The 6-foot guard out of LSU dropped in a season-best 31 points on 13-of-24 from the field, leading the Lynx to their second straight win, 92-87 over the visiting Fever on Friday. Augustus' 116 points scored this season is the most by any WNBA player in the first five games of her career.

Ohlde FILLING THE BOX SCORE While teammate Seimone Augustus was the obvious star in Minnesota's 92-87 win over Indiana, forward Nicole Ohlde contributed a little of everything. Ohlde just missed a triple-double, collecting 13 points and career highs of 14 rebounds and eight assists.