The playoff picture got a bit clearer last night, but not much. LA's loss put them further out and New York's win put them further in, but they remain in a muddle with Phoenix, Minnesota, Washington, and Detroit.

Minnesota beat Houston behind strong efforts from Nicole Ohlde and Chandi Jones, who had a career-high 17 points.

"It was a great game, exciting to watch," coach McConnell Serio said. "This is a stepping stone for us into our future. We have four games ... and we expect to win all of them, but whatever happens this is what our future looks like. We're very excited about that."

But in Phoenix, the Mercury also won to stay one game (and two losses) ahead of Minny. Diana Taurasi, after receiving an undisclosed fine for calling the refs "stupid" last game, scored 0 points.

It was the last game for Maria Stepanova. "If the Mercury is in the WNBA Finals, I will be back," she said. (Not terribly likely.)

But while Detroit lost in Phoenix, Washington also lost in New York. The Mystics and the Shock are now both 14-15.

Vickie Johnson had a big night, mostly by getting to the line, and then by making the game-winning play in the final minute.

The Lib can breath a little easier, because they've now put 2.5 games between themselves and their challengers. "This game hurts so much because we would have only been a half-game behind them," said coach Adubato. "Now we're two and a half."