WEEKLY LEADERS
POINTS Jackson - 15.0 Lennox - 13.0 Bird - 12.7 Sam - 12.3 Vodichkova - 7.7 REBOUNDS Jackson - 6.7 Lennox - 6.0 Sam - 5.7 Burse - 5.0 Vodichkova - 3.3 ASSISTS Bird - 5.0 Sam - 4.3 Vodichkova - 2.0
storm.wnba.com PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Catherine Steenkeste/NBAE/Getty Sheri Sam 12.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 4.3 apg, 0.3 topg, 12-14 ft Sam was quiet in the Storm's home victory over Phoenix, but in the two road games she was nothing short of brilliant. At Los Angeles, Sam had 15 points to bolster a struggling Storm offense and also just missed a double-double. At Sacramento, Sam was even better, scoring 17 points on 6-for-10 shooting and tying her career high with eight assists. All told, Sam handed out 13 assists during the week and committed only one turnover. She also got to the line as frequently as any Storm player, hitting 12 of her 14 attempts. At the same time, Sam continued to play outstanding defense, shutting down Diana Taurasi when the Storm went to that matchup against Phoenix. All in all, it was a week where Sam demonstrated how important her versatility is to the Storm.

May 31-Jun. 6
Record for the week: 2-1
Overall Record: 4-2
Standing: 1st, Western Conference

Tuesday, Jun. 1, 2004

Storm 29 41 70 at Los Angeles 33 40 73

The Los Angeles Sparks hosted the Storm on Tuesday looking to even the score after being badly beaten in Seattle a week and a half earlier. At the start of the game, the Storm was ice cold, missing its first eight shots before Betty Lennox finally ended the drought. However, the Sparks were unable to build up a big lead, and the Storm chased them down to take the lead by the 10-minute mark. The game was a physical one, with no love lost between the two sides and 52 fouls called combined. Sue Bird's frustration with the physical play boiled over when she was called for an offensive foul for elbowing defender Nikki Teasley. The game was also incredibly close in the second half, with neither team leading by more than seven points. The Storm kept it close, but didn't have enough energy to push over the top despite the Sparks leaving the door ajar by missing four of six free throws in the final minute. Trailing 73-70 on its final possession, Seattle missed three tying three-point attempts as L.A. held on for the win. Mwadi Mabika led Los Angeles with 19 points, while Lisa Leslie added 17 and 10 boards. Lauren Jackson had 17 points and eight rebounds for the Storm, but shot 4-for-20 from the field, 1-for-11 inside the arc. Sheri Sam added 15 points and nine boards.

Thursday, Jun. 3, 2004

Phoenix 23 22 45 at Storm 22 50 72

There were two very different halves on Thursday as the Storm beat Phoenix at KeyArena. The first half was a defensive struggle reminiscent of an Eastern Conference playoff game, with the Mercury going 7:13 without scoring and putting up just five points in the first 12 minutes of action. Still, after a late run, Phoenix took a 23-22 lead to the locker room, as the Storm was little better on offense. That would change in the second half, with the Storm shooting 73.1% from the field and putting together the team's second 50-point half of the season to blow out Phoenix, which remained cold on offense and scored just 22 points in the half. The Mercury's 45 points were both a team low for offense and a Storm record for defense, while the 27-point margin of defeat was the third-largest in Phoenix history. The Storm's trio of Bird (16 points), Jackson (15) and Lennox (17) outscored the Mercury all by itself, with Jackson scoring all of her points during the second half. Only Anna DeForge (12) scored double-figures for Phoenix.

Saturday, Jun. 5, 2004

Storm 36 29 65 at Sacramento 32 31 63

The Storm was facing a lot of history as it concluded its week in Sacramento on Saturday. Not only was the Storm trying to snap a nine-game road losing streak (one off the franchise record of 10 that spanned the 2000 and 2001 seasons), Seattle had also never won in Sacramento, losing all seven matchups with the Monarchs at ARCO Arena. The Storm came out determined to change that streak, hitting 13 straight shots in the early going to build a huge 30-9 lead. Just as Phoenix had two nights earlier, Sacramento came charging back, cutting the deficit to four points at the half and continuing the onslaught to take a 47-45 lead with more than six minutes left in the game. The Storm led most of the rest of the way, but Sacramento tied the game at 61 on a Ticha Penicheiro free throw with 1:19 to play. Sam hit two free throws on the ensuing possession, and that lead held until Kara Lawson scored on a driving layup with eight seconds left. On its final possession, the Storm gave the ball to Lennox, who drove the right baseline and scored with less than a second left. Sacramento still nearly sent the game to overtime when Yolanda Griffith, who finished with 20 points and 11 boards, missed a fadeaway at the buzzer, allowing the Storm to pick up a much-needed 65-63 win. All five Storm starters scored double-figures, with Sam leading the way with 17 points, eight assists and five rebounds.

Weekly Happenings

Bird handed out a season-high six assists on Saturday. Rocky Widner/NBAE/Getty

Strong Start
With a 4-2 record, the Storm has matched its best start through six games in franchise history. Seattle also started out 4-2 in 2001 before fading to finish with a 10-22 record. This is also the latest in a season the Storm has ever been in first place in the Western Conference, with its 4-2 record a half-game better than the 4-3 Minnesota Lynx. In 2001, while the Storm started out well, Los Angeles won its first nine games to clamp down first place in the West.

At 6-1, the red-hot New York Liberty is the only WNBA team with a better record than the Storm, and the two teams rank 1-2 in WNBA.com's latest power rankings.

Scary Thought
The Storm outscored Phoenix 50-22 in the second half of Thursday's game and then raced out to a 30-9 advantage early on Saturday. When the two consecutive runs are combined, the Storm outscored its opponents 80-31 over a period of slightly less than 32 minutes.

Another Big Win
The Storm's win over Phoenix was in many regards a mirror image of the blowout win in May against Los Angeles, also at KeyArena. In both games, the Storm set franchise regards for points, scored against the Sparks, allowed against the Mercury. Both also rank amongst the franchise's biggest wins ever. The complete list of those, as well as the best defensive performances in franchise history:

Margin Opponent Date Points Opponent Date 41 Phoenix 7/19/02 45 Phoenix 6/3/04 40 San Antonio 6/22/03 47 at Utah 6/25/01 36 Los Angeles 8/6/03 47 at Portland 6/2/02 29 Phoenix 7/25/03 48 at Charlotte 7/7/01 27 Indiana 6/10/03 48 Phoenix 7/19/02 27 Phoenix 6/3/04 26 Los Angeles 5/22/04 26 Sacramento 6/23/02

Injury Report