Jackson at eye of Storm
Lauren Jackson had 32 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Seattle Storm to a 75-61 victory over the Sacramento Monarchs on Saturday night in Seattle.
Jackson scored 23 points in the first half to set a team record and notched her third double-double of the season. It was her 67th consecutive game with double-figures in scoring.
She was 8 for 19 from the field and 13 for 15 from the free-throw line.
Sacramento had its three-game winning streak snapped, allowing Seattle to hit 61.5 percent from the floor in the first half.
Sue Bird scored 16 points and Sheri Sam added 11 for the Storm.
Reserve Hamchetou Maiga scored 17 to lead the Monarchs, and Rebekkah Brunson added 10.
Jackson hit three 3-pointers and a pair of free throws as Seattle jumped out to an 11-0 lead in the first 4:13.
The Storm run was stopped on a driving layup by DeMaya Walker with 15:21 left in the half.
Fever 61, Mercury 60: Tamika Catchings had 19 points, 13 rebounds and a blocked shot in the final seconds to lead Indiana past visiting Phoenix.
The Fever (9-7) won without making a field goal in the final 9:06.
The game included 17 ties and seven lead changes. The final switch came when Catchings, who has made 18 consecutive free throws, hit a pair from the line with 36.6 seconds to play.
Phoenix got the ball to rookie Diana Taurasi to try the go-ahead basket, but the shot was blocked by Catchings with 11.9 seconds to go. The ball bounced out of bounds, but Phoenix maintained possession with 11.3 seconds to go.
After a timeout, Taurasi had another shot attempt blocked by Kristen Rasmussen and the Mercury again retained possession with 4.8 seconds to go.
Phoenix botched its final chance to tie by committing its 15th turnover of the game with 2.3 seconds left.
Lynx 78, Shock 70: Rookie Vanessa Hayden scored 10 of her career-high 12 points in the second half, leading Minnesota past visiting Detroit.
Katie Smith led the Lynx with 27 points. Hayden sparked a second-half comeback by shooting 6 for 10, blocking three shots and taking a key charge with just under three minutes remaining and the Lynx holding a three-point lead.
Sting 62, Comets 55: Dawn Staley and Allison Feaster each scored 16 points to help Charlotte notch a win in Houston.
Charlotte Smith-Taylor scored 12 points and added five rebounds for the Sting, who are 1-6 all-time in Houston.
The Comets have lost five of seven overall.
Liberty fire Adubato
New York Liberty coach Richie Adubato was fired after leading the team to three Eastern Conference championships in 5 1/2 seasons.
Assistant Pat Coyle was hired as interim coach of the Liberty, who are off to a 7-9 start and tied for fifth place in the conference.
The Liberty also fired assistant Jeff House.
Adubato, named coach of the Liberty in December 1998, had a record of 100-79 and led New York to conference titles in 1999, 2000 and ‘02. The Liberty were beaten in the ‘99 and 2000 finals by the Houston Comets, and lost to the Los Angeles Sparks in the 2002 finals.