Charlotte, N.C. ? The Charlotte Sting are determined not to put themselves in the same big hole they started in last season.

The Sting, who began last year 1-10 before rallying to win the Eastern Conference, moved to 2-0 by beating the Houston Comets 67-52 on Monday night.

It was the second-straight win over a Western Conference heavyweight Charlotte beat the defending WNBA champion Los Angeles Sparks in the season opener.

“We’re pretty excited about the start not just 2-0 but 2-0 against two very good teams,” coach Anne Donovan said. “The wins give us tremendous confidence and it’s going to be imperative that no matter who we play, we remain focused.”

Charlotte was swept by Los Angeles in the WNBA Finals last year, then got slight revenge Saturday night by beating the Sparks in overtime.

The Sting then proved that win was no fluke by beating the Comets, winners of the first four WNBA titles before the Sparks knocked them off last season.

“I think the rest of the league is definitely paying attention,” said guard Andrea Stinson, who led the Sting with 23 points.

“We have been playing hard since the end of last year and proved it with a pair of wins over two very big teams in this league.”

Stinson was a game-time decision after spraining her ankle in the opener. She was on the floor at tipoff, keeping intact her streak of playing in all of the Sting’s 155 regular-season games in league history.

Stinson is one of three players not to miss a game since the WNBA started in 1997.

Phoenix 71,

Washington 65

Phoenix Adrain Williams scored 13 points and grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds.

Gordana Grubin added 15 points and Jennifer Gillom had 13 for the Mercury (2-1), who have never lost to the Mystics (1-1) in eight meetings. Grubin also had seven assists.

Washington rookie Stacey Dales-Schuman scored 15 points for Washington, which played without three-time all-star Chamique Holdsclaw, who did not accompany the team on the trip west following the death of her grandmother.

Sparks 89, Fire 72

Los Angeles Lisa Leslie scored 25 points and grabbed a season-high 18 rebounds.

Sophia Witherspoon added 19 points for the Sparks (4-1), who extended their regular-season home winning streak to 24 games over three seasons. DeLisha Milton contributed 16 points. Portland guard Jackie Stiles, the WNBA’s rookie of the year last season, did not play because of bursitis in her heel.

Box Scores

Sting 67, Comets 52

HOUSTON (52)

Swoopes 6-14 4-4 17, Thompson 5-12 0-0 10, Johnson 2-7 0-0 4, Lewis 0-2 0-0 0, Arcain 2-7 5-5 9, Lobo 0-0 0-0 0, Snow 3-6 1-4 7, Lassiter 0-1 0-0 0, Gibson 2-2 0-0 5, Totals 20-51 10-13 52.

CHARLOTTE (67)

Smith 2-6 0-0 5, Feaster 1-10 5-6 8, Erb 1-2 0-0 2, Staley 5-11 4-6 14, Stinson 8-9 3-6 23, Sutton-Brown 2-2 2-7 6, Miller 4-8 0-0 9, Buescher 0-2 0-0 0, Owens 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-50 14-25 67.

Houston 23 29 52

Charlotte 27 40 67

3-Point GoalsHouston 2-5 (Gibson 1-1, Swoopes 1-2, Thompson 0-2), Charlotte 7-18 (Stinson 4-5, Smith 1-2, Miller 1-3, Feaster 1-5, Buescher 0-1, Staley 0-2). Fouled outSmith. ReboundsHouston 31 (Johnson, Snow 6), Charlotte 41 (Stinson, Sutton-Brown 6). AssistsHouston 9 (Arcain 5), Charlotte 17 (Staley 7). Total foulsHouston 18, Charlotte 17. A5,915.

Sparks 89, Fire 72

PORTLAND (72)

Folkl 1-4 1-2 3, Walker 0-1 2-2 2, Crawley 4-7 0-2 9, Thomas 3-12 2-2 8, Jackson 8-20 3-6 19, Barksdale 4-17 1-1 9, Young 0-6 1-2 1, Burras 5-9 5-6 15, A.Hall 3-3 0-4 6. Totals 28-79 15-27 72.

LOS ANGELES (89)

Mabika 2-6 0-0 4, Byears 2-5 0-0 4, Leslie 10-19 5-5 25, Dixon 2-7 1-2 5, Teasley 1-5 0-0 2, Milton 8-12 0-0 16, McCrimmon 3-5 0-0 7, Witherspoon 6-9 3-3 19, Grgin Fonseca 0-2 2-2 2, DeSouza 1-3 0-2 2, V.Hall 1-2 1-2 3. Totals 36-75 12-16 89.

Portland 35 37 72

Los Angeles 46 43 89

3-Point GoalsPortland 1-13 (Crawley 1-1, Young 0-1, Walker 0-1, Thomas 0-3, Jackson 0-3, Barksdale 0-4), Los Angeles 5-16 (Witherspoon 4-7, McCrimmon 1-2, Mabika 0-1, Milton 0-1, Grgin Fonseca 0-1, Teasley 0-1, V.Hall 0-1, Leslie 0-2). Fouled outNone. ReboundsPortland 60 (Burras 10), Los Angeles 46 (Leslie 18). AssistsPortland 15 (Thomas 4), Los Angeles 26 (Teasley 7). Total foulsPortland 18, Los Angeles 20. TechnicalsPortland Bench, Leslie. A8,567.

Mercury 71, Mystics 65

WASHINGTON (65)

Dales-Schuman 6-11 0-0 15, Page 3-7 0-1 6, Bullett 5-9 2-2 13, Miller 5-10 0-0 11, Burgess 1-2 2-2 4, Jones 4-12 4-5 12, Walseth 0-1 0-0 0, Sauret 0-1 0-0 0, Washington 2-4 0-0 4, Luz 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 26-60 8-10 65.

PHOENIX (71)

Reed 0-2 0-0 0, Gillom 5-7 2-2 13, Williams 4-5 5-6 13, Reid 2-5 1-2 5, Grubin 6-13 2-3 15, Harrison 5-11 0-0 10, Moises 1-3 0-0 2, Bonfiglio 3-6 2-2 8, Mahoney 2-3 1-1 5. Totals 28-55 13-16 71.

Washington 31 34 65

Phoenix 36 35 71

3-Point GoalsWashington 5-13 (Dales-Schuman 3-5, Miller 1-2, Bullett 1-3, Burgess 0-1, Luz 0-2), Phoenix 2-7 (Gillom 1-1, Grubin 1-4, Mahoney 0-1, Moises 0-1). ReboundsWashington 35 (Page, Bullett 7), Phoenix 31 (Williams 11). AssistsWashington 19 (Burgess 5), Phoenix 15 (Grubin 7). Total foulsWashington 16, Phoenix 14. A7,984.