The Seattle Storm got a taste of what life was like without Lauren Jackson before the WNBA's month-long Olympic layoff, as the league's reigning MVP missed the last five games to join the Australian national team.

The Storm just weren't planning on playing without her for the rest of the season.

Seattle will try to move on without its injured star Thursday as it continues its pursuit of a fifth straight playoff berth with a matchup against the Houston Comets.

Jackson led the WNBA in scoring and rebounding in 2007 en route to winning her second MVP award. She was third in the league with 20.2 points per game this year, leading Seattle (17-9) to the second-best record.

While helping Australia to a silver medal at the Beijing Games, however, her country's Olympic committee announced that she would have surgery on her right ankle after the competition. She's expected to miss four to six weeks, which would include the rest of the regular season and part of the playoffs.

In a statement, Seattle coach Brian Agler said the Storm are disappointed to hear the news of Jackson's surgery, but added that the team supports her decision to have the procedure done immediately.

"I know Lauren is a tremendous player and she's definitely going to be missed, but we still have a lot of talent on this team," Storm point guard Sue Bird told her team's official Web site. "With eight games left, we're still in position to obviously make the playoffs and hopefully finish high in the West and see what happens from there."

While it's qualified for the postseason each of the last four years, Seattle hasn't advanced past the first round since it won the franchise's lone championship in 2004.

Bird, Swin Cash and former Houston star Sheryl Swoopes will try to pick up the slack in Jackson's absence, but it will be difficult to replace the presence of the 6-foot-5 center. The Storm won their last six games with Jackson in the lineup, but went 3-2 without her before the Olympics.

The Comets (14-12), meanwhile, won their last five games before the break to surge back into playoff contention. They begin the season's final stretch one-half game behind Los Angeles and Sacramento, who are tied for the West's final two postseason spots.

Houston missed the playoffs last year for just the second time in franchise history, but longtime star Tina Thompson is hoping to lead the team back to the postseason. Thompson, who won a gold medal with Team USA in Beijing, is averaging 17.2 points and 6.9 rebounds - both among the top 15 in the league.

The Comets are a Western Conference-worst 3-10 on the road and the Storm are a WNBA-best 13-1 at home, but Houston nearly beat Seattle at KeyArena on June 1. The Comets led by six going into the fourth quarter of that game, but the Storm came back for a 64-63 win.

Houston returned the favor with a 68-60 victory at home June 14. Thursday's matchup will decide the season series.

Swoopes has averaged 5.0 points while shooting 3-of-12 against the Comets this year, playing her first games against the team with which she spent 10 seasons and won four WNBA titles.