Uncasville, Conn. — The Connecticut Sun have Los Angeles' number this season and are winning virtually every time they play against the Western Conference.
The Eastern Conference-leading Sun ran their league-best record to 21-6 Tuesday night with a 64-51 victory over the Sparks, to finish with a 13-1 record over Western Conference opponents. Their only stumble was a 95-86 loss June 22 at Seattle.
"We've seen teams go west and win this year," Connecticut coach Mike Thibault said. "You've had a lot of good young players that come up into the league and into the Eastern Conference.
"There is a lot of good things going on in our conference. I don't think that there's a big gap anymore."
Katie Douglas scored a season-high 22 points, and Nykesha Sales added 16 to lead the Connecticut.
Douglas hit a career-high 12 free throws in 14 tries in a physical game marked by 42 fouls and technicals on Sparks coach Henry Bibby and center Lisa Leslie.
The Sun already have clinched a playoff spot. The Sparks (12-14) are trying to stay in the postseason picture. The Sun have swept both games against the two-time champion Sparks, whom they held to a season-low in points.
"The trademark of this team the past few years has been our selflessness," Douglas said. "That was evident tonight. A big reason why we won the ballgame was that, while sometimes we are not knocking down the shots, we are making those extra passes."
Connecticut now enters the home stretch of the season with the emphasis on "home." The Sun are 11-1 at Mohegan Sun arena and have five of their last seven games at home.
Los Angeles, meanwhile, is 2-5 on an eight-game road trip that winds up tonight in New York. Bibby said he didn't think the travel was wearing on his team.
The Connecticut Sun's Katie Douglas breaks through Los Angeles Sparks defenders Tamika Whitmore, left, and Laura Macchi, right. The Sun won, 64-51, Tuesday in Uncasville, Conn.
"I think we weren't focused on the basket," he said. "We played pretty good defense. We couldn't get a call, we couldn't knock down an open shot, and we couldn't make a layup. So it's tough to win games when you do that."
Shock 71, Sting 64
Auburn Hills, Mich. - Katie Smith scored 21 points, and Deanna Nolan added 17 for Detroit. The Shock (12-14) won for the second time in a row and moved within a game of New York for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The win avenged Saturday's double-overtime loss to the Sting (4-23). In that game, Cheryl Ford missed two free throws at the end of regulation - either of which would have won the game.
Lynx 76, Silver Stars 72
Minneapolis - Stacey Lovelace scored a career-high 17 points to lead Minnesota. Vanessa Hayden scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Tamika Williams added 11 points for the Lynx (13-14). Minnesota moved percentage points ahead of Phoenix and Los Angeles in the race for the fourth and final playoff berth in the Western Conference.
Storm 71, Comets 68
Seattle - Lauren Jackson scored 27 points and led Seattle past Sheryl Swoopes and Houston. The MVP contenders, who entered tied for the WNBA lead at 18 points per game, backed their billing. Swoopes had a career-high 34 points on 15-for-24 shooting. Her previous high of 33 was accomplished twice, most recently on June 18, 2004, against Seattle. Jackson added nine rebounds and three assists.
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