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Boxscore Recap Live From The Press Row

TONIGHT'S NOTES

Sacramento takes a 2-0 lead in the season series with the final game Friday at ARCO Arena. The Storm fell below .500 at the latest point in a season since the end of the 2001 campaign. Lauren Jackson scored a game-high 30 points, her eighth 30-point effort of the season. That ties Diana Taurasi’s single-season record from 2006. Jackson has 16 career 30-point games, tying Cynthia Cooper’s all-time record. Jackson blocked seven shots, one shy of her career high set Aug. 11, 2002 vs. Utah. The Storm had 11 blocks as a team, also one shy of the franchise record set in that same game. Iziane Castro Marques handed out a career-high six assists. Coming off a career-high 29 points on Sunday, Nicole Powell led Sacramento with 28 points. Powell tied her career highs by going 8-for-8 from the free-throw line for the second straight game. Rebekkah Brunson grabbed a career-high nine offensive rebounds. The Storm dropped to a league-worst 1-9 in games decided by 10 points or fewer. During the game, the Storm welcomed the 1,000,000th fan to KeyArena. Sacramento’s 17 offensive rebounds were a season high for a Storm opponent, passing the 16 the Monarchs grabbed on June 7 at Sacramento. The Storm outscored Sacramento 24-16 in the final period after the Monarchs had a 19-11 edge in the third quarter. There was just one lead change and one tie all game.

July 31, 2007

STORM COACH ANNE DONOVAN:

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On the game:
It's tough but I also look at this as great preparation for next game. I think being in close games and learning some lessons, being frustrated for much of this game, and coming back in the fourth quarter and really playing focused and aggressive.

On the defense:
I thought Sue Bird and Izzy (Castro Marques) did a great job. And even though (Nicole) Powell was 4 for 8 (from the three-point line) I thought they did a great job defensively chasing (Kara) Lawson and chasing Powell and not giving them any uncontested looks. Lauren (Jackson) with seven blocks, and really our downfall in the game was offensive boards. And you look at (Rebekkah) Brunson who just had another field day. A lot of that is Lauren going to help on penetration and someone getting into the rotation and keeping Brunson off. That's the difference in the game: 17 offensive boards. It's tough to survive that.

I thought Ashley (Robinson) gave us great minutes. It was great to see our bench come in and really hold us down a little while we rested JB (Janell Burse) and got some time off before getting her back in.

GUARD BETTY LENNOX:

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On the game:
They got us back on our heels. They were aggressive and forced some turnovers. We were just setting ourselves up for bait.

We have really got to focus on defense for 40 minutes. I thought we did a better job in the fourth quarter but time kind of ran out on us. It's frustrating losing at home with the crowd being behind us. It's frustrating because it was two back-to-back at home. We've just got to keep focused and we'll be down there trying to pull one out at their place. Our backs are against the wall so we just have to go in there like we have nothing to lose.

FORWARD LAUREN JACKSON:

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On the game:
It was a frustrating game. We're finding it hard to figure out ways to win. It's been to our detriment. We're losing a lot lately. We've just got to keep positive and go into training and do what we have to do. Keep a positive mindset and hopefully keep it up. We'll just keep working on our game and eventually we have to win. It's the nature of the game.

SACRAMENTO HEAD COACH JENNY BOUCEK:

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On the fourth quarter:
To me (Seattle) is the most talented team in the West – no question, offensively. It’s hard to keep them from having runs, from scoring and it’s hard to keep them quiet. I thought we did a good job of making them work for what they got, but this is a great team. We did the best we could.

On limiting Seattle’s shots:
It’s always what we have to do. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing, but we have to work hard as a unit, our bench included, and make teams work for everything they get. That’s what this team is built on so it’s no different on any given night – either we work hard or we lose to anyone. That’s the bottom line for us.

On this being a must-win game:
Every game this time of year is important. There’s no difference in who you’re playing – they all count the same as one win or one loss. We’re all jockeying for position, jockeying for momentum and our team was not pleased with our effort against Minnesota (on Sunday night). It wasn’t relevant who we were playing … our team wanted to play to our standards. We always want to bring our work ethic and our unity.

On Nicole Powell’s game:
Nicole is very gifted. She’s settling in to our system and she’s playing at a high level right now. But this was definitely a team win. She scored most of our points, but this win would not have happened without every single one of those players that stepped on the floor. We’re very much a team that needs all of us.

On getting the win in Seattle:
For me, it’s just a good win against a very good team on their home floor, which may be the toughest place for us to play. That makes it a sweet win – that we kind of conquered what’s been a very difficult thing for this franchise … in one game, for one night.

On playing Seattle again Friday night:
You relax for a second on this team and they’ll go on a 20-0 run so it doesn’t get any easier. We have to keep the same intensity and the same focus if we even want to have a chance against Seattle.

GUARD KARA LAWSON:

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On the fourth quarter:
We kind of broke down defensively in a lot of ways. We let Lauren get touches too close to the basket. For three quarters we did a fairly good job of making her shots difficult. She’s going to make difficult shots the entire game but you want her to have to do that and we really only did that for three quarters. When she gets position as deep as she was getting (in the fourth), you have no chance – with one or two people guarding her. Defense was a little inconsistent in the fourth and that’s how they were able to close the gap on the double digit lead that we had.

On the game being a must-win game:
It’s down the stretch and we’re in a playoff run. Everyone is battling for positioning and you want to give yourself the best opportunity to advance in the playoffs. We feel like we’ve been a team that’s really established momentum in the second half of the season the last few years and that’s carried us through to the finals. So we’re looking to have consistent games and to string a good stretch together and hopefully build some of that. At the same time, we’re in third place coming into this game and they’re in fourth so the easiest way to climb up those standings is to beat the team that’s right above you so we know that this two-game stretch with them is very, very important for us.

On Nicole Powell’s game:
She’s really come back focused in the second half of the season since the (All-Star) break and has become the player we look to when we really need a basket down the stretch. Her biggest asset is her size on the perimeter so you don’t find many players that can challenge her because whoever is guarding her is smaller. She can get her shot off on a lot of guards because of that height advantage. She’s a pure shooter at that size so that really is an asset for her on the wing.

GUARD NICOLE POWELL:

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On the fourth quarter:
They started making plays and they have Lauren Jackson and Sue Bird so no lead is safe when you’re playing Seattle. They’re a great offensive team and can make really tough shots.

On this being a must-win game:
Every game is a must-win at this point. We’re trying to get the best playoff spot we can and every team is tough. There aren’t any guaranteed wins in this league.

On being in a groove offensively:
Yes, I’m trying to take the shots when I have them and I’m glad my percentage is a little better.

2007 Postgame Quotes/Notes Archive