Last year, the Seattle Storm found out the hard way how important Lauren Jackson is to their team.

In the offseason, they responded accordingly.

Jackson has returned to Seattle following ankle surgery and free agency, and the Australian star leads the Storm into a season-opening home-and-home series with the Sacramento Monarchs at Arco Arena on Saturday.

The Storm (22-12) were without Jackson for most of the second half of 2008 after the two-time WNBA MVP joined the Australian national team before the Olympics.

She injured her ankle in Beijing and had season-ending surgery, and Seattle went 8-5 without her compared to 14-7 with her in the lineup. With their star missing, the Storm also lost 2-1 to Los Angeles in the first round of the playoffs - the club's fourth straight exit in the Western Conference semifinals.

Jackson averaged 20.2 points and 7.0 rebounds with the Storm last season, and the team re-signed her to a one-year deal last month.

"We had some specific goals in the offseason we tried to accomplish and I feel good about that," Seattle coach Brian Agler said. "I feel like we're deeper. Our main goal is to put ourselves into a position to win a championship."

The Storm lost former league MVPs Sheryl Swoopes and Yolanda Griffith, but they'll get back post players Janell Burse and Suzy Batkovic-Brown. Burse missed last season due to injury and Batkovic-Brown, an Australian teammate of Jackson's, has not played for the Storm since 2005.

Batkovic-Brown won't be available for Saturday's game as she travels from Australia, and Burse could be slowed because of a shoulder problem.

Forward Swin Cash, coming off surgery to correct a back problem that limited her last year, won't start for a Storm team that's trying to avoid another season full of key injuries.

Seattle won its first three games against the Monarchs last year, but lost 77-74 with Jackson and Cash out Sept. 9.

"For us last year, I can really confidently say that we were the best team in the league when we had our entire roster and were healthy," said star point guard Sue Bird, in her eighth season in Seattle. "... Had we stayed healthy, I don't know, anything could have happened."

The Monarchs (18-16) also had high hopes after an impressive run to the playoffs, but an injury slowed them down as well.

They went 10-5 to close the season and earned the West's last playoff spot. Despite lacking key forward Rebekkah Brunson, they pushed top-seeded San Antonio to the brink in the first round before falling 86-81 in overtime in Game 3.

Brunson's knee injury eventually required surgery, but she returns as part of coach Jenny Boucek's veteran core that includes Kara Lawson and Ticha Penicheiro.

Sacramento also brings back forward DeMya Walker after she missed most of last year with an injury, and could see an impact from rookie Courtney Paris, the former Oklahoma star who was selected with the seventh pick in the draft.

The Storm and Monarchs meet again Sunday night in Seattle.