WASHINGTON – Lauren Jackson tied the WNBA record with 47 points, but it wasn’t enough for the Seattle Storm to avoid a 97-96 overtime loss to the Washington Mystics on Tuesday night.

It was the fifth time in league history that a player scored 40 or more points. Jackson, who also had 14 rebounds, tied the mark by Phoenix’s Diana Taurasi, who scored 47 in a 111-110 triple-overtime win at Houston last August.

Alana Beard scored 27 points, including Washington’s final seven points, to pace the Mystics (10-13), who have won eight of 11 games and find themselves a half-game out of a playoff spot despite having started the season with eight straight losses.

Monique Currie added 23 points and DeLisha Milton-Jones 22 for the Mystics, who barely overcame a dominant night from Jackson, the 2003 league MVP.

Jackson scored 33 points for the Storm (12-12) after halftime, including a stretch in which she accounted for 23 of the Storm’s 27 points. Hitting from all angles, Jackson made 16 of her first 20 shots from the field before tiring late and missing 10 of her final 12 shots. Her two free throws with 3.2 seconds in regulation tied it at 88 and forced overtime.

Tied at 90 with 2:06 remaining in the extra period, Beard stole the ball from Jackson and followed a miss by Currie to put the Mystics up two. Beard then blocked a shot by Sue Bird and came down on the other end to hit a 3-pointer to put the Mystics up five. Beard’s short jumper with 6 seconds left gave the Mystics a four-point cushion.

Jackson, whose previous career high was 35 points, followed with a 3-pointer of her own, but the Mystics were able to run out the clock.

Iziane Castro Marques scored 16 points for the Storm, and Bird added 12.

The Mystics led by as many as 12 in the first half, with Currie leading the way with 13 points, but the Storm closed the half on a 17-6 run and the game was tied at 40 at halftime.