The Seattle Storm spent much of the first half of the season alone in first place with the Sparks and the rest of the pack left to chase them. 2003 WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson and Two-time First-Team All-WNBA point guard Sue Bird paced the Storm to a 20-win season, the best in franchise history. Despite struggling down the stretch since the break, Seattle would have won the Eastern Conference handily and has the pieces in place to make a run deep into the Playoffs. Minnesota comes in without its superstar, Katie Smith, who suffered a season-ending knee injury, in the Olympics. However, Minnesota came together and reponded to clinch the third seed.

2004 Regular Season: Seattle Storm 2 - Minnesota Lynx 1
Some fast facts about the Storm-Lynx first-round matchup:

Jackson
 The versatile Jackson not only led the WNBA in scoring with 20.5 ppg, but she also showed that she cannot be left alone on the perimeter, connecting on 45.2% of her 3-point FGs, good enough for third in the league.
Not only did Lynx rookie Nicole Ohlde lead the team in scoring after Smith got hurt, but she led all rookies in rebounding, blocks and field goal percentage.
This is only the second playoff appearance for both the Lynx and Storm franchises. The Storm suffered a first round loss in 2002 while the Lynx were knocked out in the first round in 2003. Last season, the Shock won the WNBA title in only their second postseason appearance in the history of the organization.
Ohlde

May 30, 2004: Storm 88, Lynx 85 | Box score

Storm leaders: Lauren Jackson (31 pts., 4 reb.), Betty Lennox (18 pts., 10 reb.)
Lynx leaders: Teresa Edwards (17 pts., 7 asst.), Shannon Johnson (16 pts., 10 reb.)
NBA TV highlights: 56k | 300k

July 30, 2004: Storm 70, Lynx 55 | Box score
Storm leaders: Lauren Jackson (23 pts., 6 reb.), Sue Bird (12 pts., 5 asst.)
Lynx leaders: Teresa Edwards (18 pts.)
NBA TV highlights: 56k | 300k

Sept. 10, 2004: Lynx 64, Storm 61 | Box score
Storm leaders: Sue Bird (15 pts., 7 reb., 5 asst.)
Lynx leaders: Vanessa Hayden (12 pts., 6 reb.), Tamika Williams (10 pts., 8 reb.)
NBA TV highlights: 56k | 300k