HOUSTON (AP) -- Washington's Alana Beard knew the Mystics needed

a fast start to win at Houston.

So they shot 60 percent from the floor and made five 3-pointers

in the first half on their way to a 70-65 victory over the Comets

on Thursday.

"They were just one game out of first in the West and we knew

they were going to come on strong in the second half," said Beard,

who led Washington with 16 points, eight rebounds and seven

assists.

The Mystics took a 43-36 lead at halftime and held on when the

Comets got within three points with just under 10 seconds left on a

3-pointer by Roneeka Hodges.

Mystics rookie Tameka Johnson made a pair of free throws in the

final seconds.

DeLisha Milton-Jones scored 15 points, Johnson had 11 and

Chasity Melvin added 10 points for the Mystics (11-10) , who capped

a five-game road trip with two straight wins.

Michelle Snow scored a career-high 23 points to lead Houston

(12-8), which lost for just the third time in 13 meetings with

Washington. Snow had 16 second-half points for the Comets, who

entered 7-0 at home against the Mystics.

"We weren't aggressive in the first half," Snow said. "We

went deep into our bench in the first half and played a lot of

players. We knew that they had improved and we had a great scouting

report on them, but they came out with more intensity and we

didn't."

Tina Thompson, playing for the first time this season after

giving birth earlier this year, scored four points on 2-for-8

shooting. She added five rebounds in 20 minutes of play.

"It was good to get back on the court," Thompson said. "I

didn't really feel the nerves. We've been playing really good and I

didn't want to mess up the flow. I just want to mesh with the

team."

Laurie Koehn made consecutive 3-pointers for a 35-27 lead with

4:39 left to help key the Mystics' big first half.

"That is the best we've executed on offense all season,"

Mystics coach Richie Adubato said of the first half. "We were hot

and putting down all of our shots. I wasn't sure where we'd be with

this being the last game of a long trip, but we held on."

The Mystics finished 3-2 on the road swing.