NBA TV highlights from Mercury-Comets: 56k | 300k Play of the Day: 56k | 300k Tina Thompson tallied 14 points on 7-for-13 shooting. Bill Baptist/WNBAE/Getty Images

HOUSTON, June 3 (Ticker) -- Tina Thompson and Janeth Arcain scored 14 points apiece as the Houston Comets pulled away in the second half for a 66-51 triumph over the Phoenix Mercury and avoided the first three-game losing streak in franchise history.

The Comets, who had dropped two in a row for the first time since last July, took a 39-28 lead into the locker room before turning the contest into a rout.

Thompson had a pair of jumpers during a 9-3 spurt that built Houston's advantage to 48-31 with 13:51 left.

The Comets avoided their first losing streak since the WNBA's inception in 1997, despite losing 40-year-old guard and former Mercury coach Cynthia Cooper, who prior to the game was placed on injured reserve with a torn rotator cuff in her right shoulder.

Despite rolling her ankle in Monday's practice, Houston's SherylSwoopes collected 11 points and 10 assists for her first double-double of the season.

Phoenix, which suffered its second straight double-digit defeat, shot just 35 percent (21-of-60) and did not place a player in double figures.