SACRAMENTO, CALIF. ? The Sacramento Monarchs like an ugly game, and Seattle’s Lauren Jackson was happy to play it.

Jackson had 18 points and six rebounds, and Sue Bird scored 14 points in the Storm’s 66-63 victory on Thursday.

The Monarchs focused their defensive attention on the reigning league MVP, hacking and pushing as much as the referees allowed. The Australian took the punishment and still led Seattle to a win while reaching a milestone.

With a three-pointer late in the first half, Jackson became the youngest player to score 2,000 points in the WNBA, doing it in just 109 games.

“It kind of felt good,” Jackson said. “I’ll get my points either way. … We just hung in there with them. There wasn’t much we could do to pull away with the way it was being played.”

Jackson took just six shots, but went 9-for-11 from the free throw line. The Monarchs’ concentration on Jackson repeatedly left Bird and her teammates open in the second half.

Mystics 68, Sting 54

Washington — Chamique Holdsclaw scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds to help Washington avenge last week’s loss to Charlotte. Holdsclaw, the league’s leading scorer, managed just six points in last Saturday’s 67-65 loss at Charlotte.

Lynx 69, Liberty 66

New York — Katie Smith scored seven of her 12 points in the final 2 minutes, and Minnesota beat New York. Vanessa Hayden, Amber Jacobs and Nicole Ohlde each added 11 points to help Minnesota to its fourth straight victory.

Comets 97, Shock 61

Houston — Tina Thompson scored 21 of her 33 points in the first half as Houston ended a five-game losing streak. Thompson, playing in just her third game since returning from a calf injury, made 12 of her 20 shots and added six rebounds in the Comets’ first win since June 27 against Washington.