Storm Ends Monarchs’ Streak

Janell Burse scored 17 points and Lauren Jackson 14 for the Seattle Storm, which beat the Sacramento Monarchs, 76-63, on Thursday night to extend its home winning streak to eight.

The victory enabled the Storm to clinch second place in the WNBA’s Western Conference. Seattle (19-14) improved to 13-3 at home, second best in the league, and will have home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Iziane Castro Marques added 13 points and Sue Bird 12 for the Storm, which took the season series from Sacramento, 2-1.

The Monarchs (24-9) came in with a four-game winning streak but fell a half-game behind Connecticut for the best record in the league. Nicole Powell led Sacramento with 17 points.

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Houston 80, Phoenix 72 -- Michelle Snow had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Tina Thompson scored 16 of her 18 points in the second half for the Comets (18-15), who clinched a playoff berth on the road.

Diana Taurasi led the Mercury (16-17) with 19 points and eight assists. Phoenix finishes the season at Seattle on Saturday, needing a win and some help to beat out the Sparks for the West’s fourth and final playoff berth.

Houston went on a 15-4 surge to open a 41-30 lead in the first five minutes of the second half.

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Detroit 55, Indiana 40 -- Cheryl Ford had 14 points and 10 rebounds at home and the Shock moved closer to the playoffs.

Detroit (16-17) will get the final Eastern Conference playoff spot if Washington loses to Connecticut today or if the Shock defeats the Mystics on Saturday.

Indiana’s total was a season low, and it was a franchise record for fewest points allowed by Detroit. The Shock gave up 41 points to Sacramento in 1998.

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Charlotte 78, New York 66 -- The Sting won on the road for the first time this season, getting 24 points from Sheri Sam.

Charlotte (6-27), which lost its first 16 road games, closed with a 24-8 run to avoid becoming the second team in WNBA history to finish winless away from home. The 1998 Mystics lost all 15 road games.