Lynx-Storm Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Jun 08 2011 1:49PM

Last season's WNBA champions kicked off their title defense in impressive fashion.

The Seattle Storm could have another tough challenge Thursday night as they seek a 23rd consecutive home victory when they face Rebekkah Brunson and the Minnesota Lynx.

Shortly after raising the second championship banner in franchise history, Seattle opened the season Saturday by defeating the team it knocked off in the Western Conference finals. Sue Bird had 13 points and 10 assists, Camille Little scored a team-best 18 and the Storm defeated Phoenix 78-71 despite Diana Taurasi's 31 points.

"It was a lot today. One of those things where you wouldn't change it but definitely a lot," Bird said. "A lot of emotion. ... You're going back and forth. It can be a challenge to stay focused but we're a mature group."

The Storm, who went 17-0 at KeyArena during the regular season before winning all four home games during the 2010 playoffs, will likely look to get three-time league MVP Lauren Jackson more involved early after she struggled to get going in the opener.

Jackson ranked fifth in league last season with 20.5 points per game but was held to one shot attempt and three points in the first half Saturday before finishing with 15 and seven rebounds.

"I just made a point not to get frustrated," Jackson said. "It just got to a point where they can stop me from scoring but they can't stop everybody else. For me, I'm going to have to battle it. I don't need to score all the time."

Brunson, meanwhile, could hear her name mentioned as an MVP candidate as the year wears on if she continues her strong play. The seven-year veteran recorded a third straight double-double with 17 points and 15 rebounds as the Lynx (2-1) defeated Tulsa 75-65 on Tuesday.

Brunson is averaging 12.3 points and 14.0 boards this year following a 2010 season in which she became the eighth player in WNBA history to average a double-double with 11.3 points and 10.3 rebounds.

"It's just go hard, be competitive, go out there compete and work hard, especially when it comes to rebounding," she said. "We have great people at every position and I know what I'm capable of, I know what I'm good at, I know what got me here, so I just want to stay within myself and work on the things I do well."

Brunson, however, failed to record a double-double in any of her three games against Seattle last season. The Storm won three of four meetings - none were decided by more than four points - and Jackson averaged 22.7 points in the three victories.

Minnesota, though, didn't have Maya Moore for that season series. The No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft finished with seven points on 2-of-10 shooting Tuesday after averaging 18.5 points in her first two contests.

"Maya plays with great energy and she sometimes doesn't know how to turn it off. She just gets rushed and tries to make a home run play," coach Cheryl Reeve said.

While the Lynx are relatively healthy, the Storm could be without Little, who suffered a right knee sprain Saturday. Coach Brian Agler listed her as day-to-day.

Brunson has double-double again as Lynx beat Storm

Posted Jun 10 2011 12:50AM

SEATTLE (AP) Rebekkah Brunson had 22 points and 14 rebounds for her fourth double-double in four games, and the Minnesota Lynx beat the defending champion Seattle Storm 81-74 Thursday night.

Seimone Augustus added 17 points and rookie Maya Moore had 14 to help Minnesota (3-1) snap an eight-game skid in Seattle. Lindsay Whalen also had a double-double with 13 points and 10 assists.

The Lynx snapped Seattle's 18-game regular season home winning streak. The Storm were 17-0 at home last year and won their opener on Saturday.

Sue Bird scored 24 points and Swin Cash had 18 to lead Seattle (1-1). Three-time MVP Lauren Jackson was held to nine points.

Minnesota scored the first 22 points of the game, holding the Storm scoreless until Jackson's turnaround jumper with 2:57 remaining in the first quarter.

Bird scored 16 points in the fourth quarter to help cut a 30-point, second-half deficit to six with 29 seconds left. The Lynx then made six free throws to seal the win.

Minnesota, which led 50-24 at halftime, last won in Seattle 86-81 in overtime on June 15, 2005.

Brunson had 11 points and eight rebounds in the first quarter, shooting 5 for 6 from the field. The Lynx were 13 of 20 and led 28-8 after 10 minutes.

Brunson had a driving layup and a jumper to give Minnesota a 50-22 lead, its biggest advantage of the first half, with 39 seconds remaining.

Brunson had 18 points, McWilliams-Franklin nine and Moore eight as the Lynx practically scored at will in the first half with a mix of jump shots and layups, including several fastbreak baskets as they beat the Storm down the court. Whalen had eight assists.

Jackson and Bird were each 1 of 6 from the field in the first half as the Storm shot 28.1 percent.

Augustus made a jumper and Moore had a driving layup to increase Minnesota's lead to 54-24 with 8:18 left in the third quarter.

Seattle didn't make back-to-back baskets until Bird followed with two jumpers.

The Storm finally made a run in the fourth quarter. Bird hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 74-67 with 41.5 seconds remaining. Jackson then made a 4-footer to make it 75-69 with 29 seconds to go before the Lynx secured the win at the free-throw line.

• Lynx: --
• Storm: --

• Lynx: --
• Storm: --

• Lead Changes: 0
• Times Tied: 0

• Arena: Key Arena, Seattle, WA
• Officials: #42 Roy Gulbeyan, #13 Cameron Inouye, #27 Penny Davis
• Attendance: 6291
• Duration: 1:58