Storm-Sparks 2009 Season Series
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Swin Cash preserved the Storm's 69-67 win over the Sparks June 26 at KeyArena, stripping the ball from Tina Thompson on the final Los Angeles possession to keep Thompson from attempting a tying shot. The Storm led throughout the first three quarters, extending the advantage to 16 points just after halftime. From there, the Sparks were able to clamp down defensively, going on a 12-run and ultimately tying the game with 4:39 to play. 
Lauren Jackson came up huge, scoring a three-pointer and a layup on consecutive possessions to give the Storm the lead for good. But after a Thompson score and Jackson splitting two free throws, Los Angeles had a chance to tie or win, with Cash's steal coming just as time expired. Jackson led the Storm with 32 points on 12-of-15 shooting, while 
Sue Bird added 15 points and five assists. Thompson scored 20 points for the Sparks.Coverage:
Live From Press Row | Box Score | Recap | Quotes/Notes | 
Gallery
 Sue Bird lifted the Storm to victory on July 22 in a 3OT matchup with L.A. Terrence Vaccaro/NBAE/Getty Images |
The Storm suffered its worst loss of 2009 June 28 in Los Angeles, struggling at both ends of the floor in an 82-55 loss to the Sparks. The loss snapped a three-game Storm winning streak but moved Los Angeles to 3-0 at home with three wins by 20-plus points. The Storm led 17-15 after one quarter, but the Sparks took control in the second quarter. The game got away from the Storm as the third period wound down, with L.A. going on a 14-2 run over the last 3:16 of the period.
Brian Agler went with his bench for the duration of the fourth quarter as the Sparks continued to extend their lead.
No Storm players scored double-figures as aggressive defense limited Jackson to nine points on 3-of-10 shooting. Her streak of eight straight games with 20-plus points was snapped one game shy of the WNBA record to start the season. 
Camille Little also scored nine points. It was the first time in franchise history the Storm failed to have a single player score double-figures. Bird was limited to seven points on 3-of-11 shooting as the Storm hit 34.6 percent from the field and committed 22 turnovers. Marie Ferdinand-Harris led five L.A. players in double-figures with 15 points.
Coverage: Game at a Glance | Box Score | Recap | Quotes/Notes | Gallery
Wednesday, July 22 - at Storm 98, Los Angeles 87 (3OT)
Three overtimes were needed to determine a winner July 22 in the second-longest game in Storm franchise history. The teams traded the lead throughout the fourth quarter and the first two overtimes, but were unable to convert on multiple chances to win the game at the buzzer - L.A. in the regular and first OT, the Storm in the second extra session. Finally, in the third overtime the Storm pulled away behind Bird. She knocked down a trio of three-pointers as the Storm used a 16-0 run to defeat the Sparks going away, 98-87.
Bird finished the night scoring a season-high 23 points and making seven shots from beyond the arc to set a new franchise record. All five Storm starters scored double-figures, including Jackson (ejected after a second technical foul) and 
Tanisha Wright (fouled out), both of them long gone by the time the night concluded. Little also came up big with 17 points and a career-high 14 rebounds.
Coverage: Live From Press Row | Box Score | Recap | Quotes/Notes | Gallery
Thursday, Aug. 6 - at Los Angeles 79, Storm 75 (OT)
Two weeks after the Storm needed three overtimes to win at KeyArena, the two teams went to OT again, the Storm's third straight overtime affair - tying a WNBA record. Initially, the visitors seized control with the first six points of the extra session, but Noelle Quinn's three-pointer kicked off a 12-0 run that buoyed a 79-75 Sparks victory.
Quinn led Los Angeles on a night when the bigger Sparks stars were held in check by the Storm's defense. She scored a career-high 23 points, eight of them in OT. Jackson paced the Storm with 21 points before fouling out in overtime. Three Storm players - Cash, Little and Wright - had 14 points apiece, and the backcourt of Wright and Bird had six assists each without a turnover.
Coverage: Game at a Glance | Box Score | Recap | Quotes/Notes | Gallery
Head-to-Head Stats
-FIELD GOALS- -3-POINT FG-- -FREE THROWS- --REBOUNDS--
PLAYER G GS MIN FG FGA PCT FG FGA PCT FT FTA PCT OFF DEF TOT AST PF DQ STL TO BLK PTS AVG
Jackson 4 4 144 29 59 .492 8 18 .444 14 17 .824 6 11 17 3 17 1 4 7 6 80 20.0
Bird 4 4 151 20 56 .357 10 29 .345 2 2 1.000 1 9 10 18 5 0 3 6 1 52 13.0
Cash 4 4 146 14 47 .298 4 8 .500 14 19 .737 7 19 26 10 12 0 4 10 2 46 11.5
Little 4 4 134 16 31 .516 0 2 .000 13 19 .684 12 19 31 5 14 1 7 4 2 45 11.3
Wright 4 4 129 15 34 .441 2 7 .286 8 8 1.000 8 9 17 14 15 1 6 7 0 40 10.0
Gearlds 3 0 37 5 12 .417 4 8 .500 0 0 --- 0 2 2 3 4 0 1 2 1 14 4.7
Johnson 4 0 67 2 16 .125 2 8 .250 6 8 .750 2 3 5 6 4 0 3 6 2 12 3.0
Batkovic-Brown 2 0 16 2 3 .667 0 0 --- 0 2 .000 1 2 3 1 2 0 0 4 0 4 2.0
Burse 4 0 55 1 9 .111 0 0 --- 2 6 .333 5 9 14 0 6 0 1 4 3 4 1.0
Robinson 3 0 11 0 1 .000 0 0 --- 0 0 --- 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.0
Walker 1 0 10 0 1 .000 0 0 --- 0 0 --- 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0.0
STORM 4 - 900 104 269 .387 30 80 .375 59 81 .728 42 85 127 60 82 3 29 56 19 297 74.3
-FIELD GOALS- -3-POINT FG-- -FREE THROWS- --REBOUNDS--
PLAYER G GS MIN FG FGA PCT FG FGA PCT FT FTA PCT OFF DEF TOT AST PF DQ STL TO BLK PTS AVG
Leslie 1 0 30 7 14 .500 0 0 --- 1 4 .250 5 1 6 4 4 0 0 3 2 15 15.0
Thompson 4 4 153 21 41 .512 6 13 .462 10 12 .833 3 12 15 9 13 0 3 12 2 58 14.5
Parker 2 2 91 12 27 .444 0 3 .000 4 4 1.000 5 18 23 7 7 0 1 7 7 28 14.0
Lennox 3 3 92 11 34 .324 1 9 .111 17 19 .895 2 19 21 7 7 0 2 15 1 40 13.3
Quinn 4 1 126 20 33 .606 5 11 .455 6 7 .857 7 13 20 10 6 0 5 5 2 51 12.8
Milton-Jones 4 4 142 16 43 .372 4 9 .444 11 13 .846 12 15 27 11 19 1 4 7 2 47 11.8
Ferdinand-Harris 3 2 52 12 25 .480 1 2 .500 0 0 --- 2 5 7 1 3 0 4 2 0 25 8.3
Hayden 3 0 57 10 20 .500 0 0 --- 2 3 .667 4 5 9 2 5 0 0 1 5 22 7.3
Bobbitt 4 0 59 5 18 .278 2 8 .250 2 2 1.000 2 3 5 9 5 0 3 4 0 14 3.5
Harrower 4 4 79 5 13 .385 1 2 .500 1 1 1.000 2 8 10 9 7 0 1 5 0 12 3.0
Wisdom-Hylton 3 0 18 1 5 .200 0 0 --- 1 2 .500 2 3 5 0 0 0 1 1 0 3 1.0
SPARKS 4 - 900 120 273 .440 20 57 .351 55 67 .821 46 102 148 69 76 1 24 72 21 315 78.8
