Washington ? Los Angeles Sparks coach Michael Cooper couldn’t help but be impressed with his top sharp-shooter.

“Tamecka Dixon, what a player,” he exclaimed.

Dixon, a Kansas University product, had a career-high 28 points, and the Sparks beat Washington, 97-91, Wednesday night as the Mystics tied a franchise record with their 11th straight defeat.

Dixon made 11 of 14 shots and was 5-for-5 from the free-throw line as Los Angeles (15-3) increased its lead in the WNBA’s Western Conference to 41/2 games over idle Houston.

The Sparks also got 18 points from Lisa Leslie, 16 apiece from Mwadi Mabika and DeLisha Milton, and 15 from Nikki Teasley while making 32 of 56 shots for a .571 percentage in the best offensive showing of the season.

The Mystics, last in the Eastern Conference with the worst record in the league, fell to 2-14 despite 27 points from Chamique Holdsclaw to match her season high.

Nakia Sanford, the only other KU product in the WNBA, had two points for the Mystics.