Houston ? Shannon Johnson scored 31 points and the Connecticut Sun earned their first win since moving from Orlando, a 91-83 victory Friday over the Houston Comets.

The Comets, who played with Sheryl Swoopes, Cynthia Cooper and Tina Thompson for the first time in two seasons, tied the game with 8:27 left when Cooper hit consecutive free throws.

But on the second shot, Thompson swung her elbow and connected with the right side of Katie Douglas’ temple as the two went up for a rebound, drawing a flagrant foul and an ejection from the game.

With Thompson, who was playing her first game since hurting her back in the preseason, gone, the Sun (1-1) went on an 8-0 run over the next two minutes and never let the Comets (2-1) get closer than three points.

Nykesha Sales had 20 points on 9-of-18 shooting for the Sun, while Douglas added 14 and Wendy Palmer 12.

Cooper finished with 22 points, while Thompson and Dominique Canty each had 12 and Michelle Snow 10.

The Sun led 49-47 at halftime, the most points scored against the Comets in a half.

Lynx 75, Silver Stars 65

San Antonio — Katie Smith scored 21 points and Svetlana Abrosimova had 16 points and nine assists for Minnesota.

Michele Van Gorp added 14 points for the Lynx (2-1), who closed the game with a 10-1 run, while Sheri Sam had 12 points.

Margo Dydek had 20 points and 12 rebounds and Jennifer Azzi added 16 points for San Antonio, which lost its second straight game after winning its season-opener.

Monarchs 69, Mercury 49

Sacramento, Calif. — Yolanda Griffith had 22 points and nine rebounds, helping Sacramento beat Phoenix for the seventh straight time in Arco Arena.

Ticha Penicheiro added 14 assists as the Monarchs dominated their home floor to the delight of the sold-out crowd of 17,317. Sacramento (2-1) has won 11 of its last 15 against Phoenix.

Rookie Plenette Pierson had 13 points and Adrian Williams added 12 points and eight rebounds for the Mercury, who began a four-game road trip by shooting only 33 percent.

Sparks 77, Storm 74

Seattle — Mwadie Mabika scored five of her 19 points in overtime and Lisa Leslie had 20 points and 10 rebounds as Los Angeles rallied to beat Seattle.

Los Angeles needed a 13-3 run to send the game into overtime. It was the fourth-straight road victory for the two-time defending champions.

Nikki Teasley added 19 for the Sparks (4-0), including a 3-pointer with 4.1 seconds left to send the game into overtime.

Sue Bird scored 22 points to lead Seattle (0-3), which led 65-55 with three minutes left when Leslie keyed the comeback.