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Storm Routs Fever on Historic Night
Final: Storm 89, Indiana 75
Naturally, most of the attention is going to focus on Lauren Jackson, and why shouldn't it? Jackson made history by reaching the 4,000 career points mark. She didn't just pass 4,000, she crushed it, scoring 27 points when she needed 14. Jackson did not attempt a shot after the six-minute mark of the third quarter, keeping her from putting up 30 in back-to-back games or matching the record for scoring in consecutive games. Still, Jackson shot 10-for-14 from the field and recorded her fifth straight double-double and league-high 15th on the season.
The Storm put together a nice balanced effort around Jackson, with four players scoring double-figures and the team shooting an even 50% from the field.
The Storm continues this crucial homestand Sunday night against the West-leading San Antonio Silver Stars. The Storm would face the Silver Stars if the season ended today, and that has not been a favorable matchup this season. San Antonio has swept the season series 3-0. The Storm will try to change that Sunday in what should be an excellent matchup.
Click here to get your tickets for that game. Besides the game, there's a lot going on. The Storm will be "Going Green," wearing road uniforms at home as part of a league-wide initiative. Also, at halftime the Storm will be hosting a Teddy Bear Toss on behalf of Warm 106.9's Teddy Bear Patrol.
Anne on 4,000
Fourth Quarter: Storm 84, Indiana 58
"What's most impressive to me about the 4,000 points is hopefully in 209 games tonight," Donovan said before the game. "You're looking at 21 games faster than anybody else. That is 3/4 of the season to get that done. And the fact that she's 26, so she's still got so much basketball ahead of her. It really reflects how far Lauren is from the rest of the league right now."
Burse Gets Run
End Third Quarter: Storm 78, Indiana 48
The Storm has to feel good about how Wendy Palmer has played off the bench tonight. Palmer has played 15 minutes and scored 10 points (tying her season high), adding five rebounds. She has been very aggressive against the Fever's young reserve posts and it has paid off for the Storm.
2004 Reunion
Third Quarter: Storm 70, Indiana 35
The funny thing about Indiana-Seattle matchups is that the opposing benches have the coaches who started the other franchise back in 2000. Anne Donovan served as the Fever's interim head coach that year (ably assisted by current Storm Assistant Shelley Patterson), while Lin Dunn was the Storm's inaugural coach. Lin got a good hand before the game, as did Sam, but the biggest cheers were reserved for Bevilaqua. She remains a true fan favorite here at KeyArena.
Domination
Third Quarter: Storm 64, Indiana 33
Women of Inspiration
Halftime: Storm 50, Indiana 27
Before the game, Storm Head Coach Anne Donovan was asked about tonight's festivities.
"This is a great night," Donovan said. "You look at this Storm team and there's so many women on our team that are inspirational in themselves. Then you look at the bigger picture and these women that we're recognizing have made impact (mostly) outside of the world of sports but in very, very significant avenues and really show how successful women can be in breaking the ceiling. It's great to have them here and I really hope that they don't get too overshadowed by Lauren's records and all that but they are significant in this night for us."
First Half Belongs to Storm
Halftime: Storm 50, Indiana 27
Janell Burse played only a minute in the second quarter. What we don't know is if that's because of the way her wrist felt, because of the size of the lead and how well backups Wendy Palmer and Ashley Robinson played or some combination thereof.
Momentum Storm
Second Quarter: Storm 39, Indiana 25
Another note on LJ hitting 4,000. At the office, we tried to predict this afternoon when she would reach the mark. I was confident in the Fever defense and am superstitious, so I must admit my pick was that Jackson would reach the mark late in the fourth quarter. I've never been so happy to be proven wrong. The winner was Storm ticket salesman Kyle Waters, who guessed the five-minute mark of the second quarter.
4,000!
Second Quarter: Storm 34, Indiana 20
During the timeout, ArenaVision features a tribute video followed by Sue Bird congratulating her teammate and best friend on the accomplishment. (Of course, Sue deserves credit for more than a few assists on those buckets.) We here at storm.wnba.com need a little time to get our LJ 4,000 page in order (didn't want to jinx things by doing too much ahead of time), but look for it later this evening on the site.
Double-Digit Storm Lead
End First Quarter: Storm 26, Indiana 16
Lauren Jackson led all scorers with nine first-quarter points and is just five away from 4,000.
Back and Forth Start
First Quarter: Storm 13, Indiana 11
There's a scoreboard update right now on the 1150 AM KKNW broadcast, and the scoreboard has been great for Seattle. Los Angeles fell in Minnesota as the Lynx snapped a 10-game losing streak, dropping the Sparks to 3.5 games back of the Storm for the fourth and final Playoff spot in the East. The Storm also gained a half-game on West-leading San Antonio, which lost a stunner to Houston. Another West Playoff team, Phoenix, is losing 52-44 to Chicago at the half.
Bad News on Burse
Pregame
"I really don't have anything, according to the trainers and doctor, left to tear," explained Burse. "That's pretty much why I'm playing tonight - I can't do further damage. Everything in there to tear has been torn. I'm going to try to get through the night and see what happens."
Burse practiced yesterday and definitely noticed the injury, though she was able to finish the session.
"By the end of practice, it was really painful," she said. "It was pretty sore, but the way I'm playing it's pretty much like a soft cast on it with the pad underneath and the strips that she (Athletic Trainer Kyla McDaniel) has going underneath."
We'll keep a close eye on Burse throughout tonight's game.
Our national anthem tonight: Claire Garabedian on the cello. You don't see, er, hear that every day.
Signing On
Pregame

