June 26, 2007: Scoreboard | Video Play of the Day | Photo Gallery | Today in the WNBA Archive

PHOTO OF THE DAY WNBA legend Cynthia Cooper watched as her former Houston Comets pulled out a 75-67 victory over the Silver Stars on Tuesday. Bill Baptist/NBAE/Getty Images

Jackson Torches Sky Storm Rolls Through Chicago: With the Sky headed into Seattle to take on the league's leading scorer, Chicago had one clear goal heading into Tuesday; shut down Lauren Jackson. However, the Sky were anything but successful in achieving their objective as Jackson unloaded for 33 points, 14 of which came in a Storm 32-point third quarter, as Seattle cruised to 94-76 home victory. It was the fifth time this season that Jackson eclipsed the 30-point plateau as the Storm improved to 6-0 when Jackson scores over 20. "She (Jackson) played really well and was aggressive from the beginning," Sue Bird said. "She’s our grand slam and we might as well milk her when she’s like that and try to get those assists." Jackson joined Cynthia Cooper, Cappie Pondexter, Sheryl Swoopes and Diana Taurasi as the only players in WNBA history to score at least 30 in consecutive games. LJ tied her career high (35) on Sunday in a victory over the Sparks. ALSO MAKING HEADLINES ... Monarchs Rise as Liberty Fall: The Monarchs took advantage of a Silver Stars' loss on Tuesday as they extended their lead in the Western Conference with a wire-to-wire 59-46 home win over the Liberty. Scholanda Robinson scored nine straight points during an 11-0 Sacramento second-half run that sealed the game for the Monarchs. Rebekkah Brunson poured in a game-high 15. Sacramento's defense was solid throughout the night as it held the struggling Liberty to 15 first-half points. New York dropped its third straight game. Brunson WHAT THEY'RE SAYING “That’s been all season for me. I’m a second-half player for some reason. My teammates did an unbelievable job keeping it going in the first half and the bench played an unbelievable game. I guess I just step up and know it’s my time in the second half and I step up to the challenge.” -- Washington's Alana Beard, after her 16-point second-half performance in the Mystics' 91-75 road victory over the Sun on Tuesday. Beard

WHO'S HOT Becky Hammon, Silver Stars 32 pts, 10-16 FG, 6-10 3-pt FG, 6-6 FT in 75-67 loss at Comets Lauren Jackson, Storm 33 pts, 11-20 FG, 2-4 3-pt FG, 9-10 FT in 94-76 win vs. Sky Alana Beard, Mystics 20 pts, 7-14 FG, 2-4 3-pt FG, 4-4 FT in 91-75 win at Sun

Hammon

WHO'S NOT Ashley Battle, Liberty 10 pts, 3-11 FG, 1-8 3-pt FG in 59-46 loss at Monarchs Cathrine Kraayeveld, Liberty 8 pts, 3-10 FG, 1-5 3-pt FG in 59-46 loss at Monarchs Asjha Jones, Sun 10 pts, 4-14 FG, 0-2 3-pt FG in 91-75 loss vs. Mystics

Battle

WHO'S ON TAP Wednesday's Games ... Sun at Shock: 7:30 p.m. ET on NBA TV Monarchs at Sparks: 10:30 p.m. ET on NBA TV

Douglas

Blue

SHINING OFF THE BENCH After struggling out of the gate with a disappointing 0-8 start, the Mystics are starting to turn their season around. A major factor in the changing of the tide has been the improved play of Washington's bench. That trend continued on Tuesday as the Mystics got a pair of double-digit performances off the pine in their 91-75 win over the Sun, earning them their fourth win in their last six games. Tamara James poured in 13 points and Nikki Blue scored a career-high 12 off the bench to hand Connecticut its franchise-record fifth straight home loss. “Our bench has really improved," Blue said. "We just want to sustain the energy that the first group brings."

COMING UP CLUTCH To say Tina Thompson struggled in the first half of Tuesday's matchup against the Silver Stars would be putting it lightly. She missed all five of her shots and was held scoreless as she watched San Antonio take a three-point lead into halftime over her Comets. However, the second half was a different story for the 11-year veteran out of USC. Thompson heated up and scored all 17 of her points in the second half, including nine in the fourth quarter, as Houston pulled past the Silver Stars, 75-67. Her second-half heroics spoiled a terrific performance by Becky Hammon, who scored 19 in the final two periods. Unfortunatley for Hammon, her San Antonio teammates managed to only score 10 in the second half.

Thompson