HOUSTON (AP) _ Sheryl Swoopes scored 30 points as the three-time defending WNBA champion Houston Comets beat the Charlotte Sting 86-71 on Friday night.

Swoopes was 13-for-22 from the field and had eight rebounds and five assists for Houston, which has won eight straight to improve its league-best record to 17-2.

Cynthia Cooper, the two-time league MVP who said this week that she will retire at the end of the season, added 21 points and seven assists. Tina Thompson had 18 points.

Andrea Stinson led the Sting (3-14) with 19 points, and Dawn Staley and Rhonda Mapp each added 12.

Houston has won nine in a row at home and 21 of its last 22 at the Compaq Center. A crowd of 12,196 attended the game.