WEEKLY LEADERS
POINTS Jackson - 21.3 Bird - 15.0 Sam - 9.7 Vodichkova - 9.7 Lennox - 5.0 REBOUNDS Jackson - 7.3 Vodichkova - 6.7 Bird - 4.7 Burse - 4.3 Lennox - 4.0 ASSISTS Bird - 7.0 Vodichkova - 2.7 Jackson/Lennox - 1.7
storm.wnba.com PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Rocky Widner/NBAE/Getty Lauren Jackson 21.3 ppg, 7.3 apg, 1.7 apg, 53.2% fg, 9-11 free throws As Jackson's accomplishments continue to grow, teams continue to try to come up with new ways to defend her. After Jackson scored 20 points in the first half at Washington, the Mystics used a zone to hold her to just two in the second half. After Jackson was again dominant in Charlotte, scoring 24 points, the Detroit Shock played what Storm play-by-play announcer David Locke called the most aggressive defense she's faced in the last two years. The defense frustrated Jackson, but she still managed to score 18 points. Unfortunately, Jackson couldn't get to 20, which would have given her five consecutive games at that level or higher.

Jul. 5-Jul. 11
Record for the week: 0-3
Overall Record: 10-7
Standing: 2nd, Western Conference

Wednesday, Jul. 7, 2004

Storm 30 39 69 at Washington 35 37 72

The Storm opened its three-game road trip in Washington against the Mystics. In the first half, the Storm was carried by the performance of Jackson. She scored 20 of the team's 30 points and was virtually unstoppable. Still, with the rest of the lineup struggling, the Storm trailed by five at the half. When a Washington zone was able to control Jackson in the second half, things started to get ugly. The Mystics opened up the half on a 13-2 run to push their lead to 16, but the Storm did not quit. A 10-0 run got Seattle back within six by the under-12 minutes timeout. The Storm rallied all the way back to tie the game at 63 with 2:38 left on a Janell Burse putback. Washington answered with five straight points, and the Storm trailed by three with possession and under a minute left when Jackson threw the ball away. To stop a fast break, Sue Bird fouled, but she was called for a questionable clear-path foul. Washington's Chamique Holdsclaw hit that free throw, but Tamicha Jackson missed two free throws when she was sent to the line. The Storm sandwiched two layups around two Holdsclaw free throws and, with five seconds left, Stacey Dales-Schuman split two free throws, giving the Storm a chance to tie with a three. Bird got a pretty good look at the equalizer, but it was off as the Storm dropped a 72-69 loss. Jackson finished with 22 points, while Sheri Sam added 16, 14 in the second half. Holdsclaw led Washington with 23 points and nine rebounds. Center Nakia Sanford, who scored a career-high 12, was the only other Mystics player in double-figures.

Thursday, Jul. 8, 2004

Storm 34 33 67 at Charlotte 36 34 70

Playing a back-to-back set for a second time this season, the Storm traveled to Charlotte early Thursday morning. The result, predictably, was that the team was fatigued in a game against the Sting that largely proved to be a battle of attrition. Despite the weary legs, the Storm got off to a quick start, leading 18-11 after five minutes. After Charlotte rallied to tie the game at 24, it would become tight the rest of the way, with only brief stretches where either team held a lead larger than one possession. One of those periods came in the last two minutes, with Charlotte leading by six, but a Jackson three got the Storm back within one with 1:18 to play. After a stop, Bird had a chance to give the Storm the lead, but her shot was blocked by Tammy Sutton-Brown. After some free throws, the Storm took possession in a similar situation to the night before - down three with eight seconds left - but Betty Lennox lost the ball and the Storm did not get up a shot for a 70-67 defeat. Jackson again led the Storm with 24 points, while Bird and Lennox had 13 apiece, Bird adding nine assists. Allison Feaster had 19 points for Charlotte, and Tynesha Lewis came off the bench to add a career-high 19 of her own.

Saturday, Jul. 10, 2004

Storm 30 35 65 at Detroit 32 38 70

To conclude the three-game trip, the Storm traveled to Detroit to take on the defending champion Shock. As happened in their previous national TV appearance (against Phoenix on Jun. 3), the Storm struggled on offense. After six minutes, it was 13-6 and the Shock was threatening to take control of the game early. However, the Storm managed to ugly it up on the defensive end of the court and got some much-needed offense from Bird, who scored nine points in the first half, all on threes. Despite poor shooting and turnovers, the Storm trailed by just two at the break. Seattle actually took the lead early in the second half, but a 9-0 Detroit run again threatened to put the game away. The Storm, as in Washington, refused to quit. With a minute left in the game, a Bird three (her franchise record-tying fifth) cut the lead to 65-62. Deanna Nolan hit a free throw, and Bird was intercepted by former UConn teammate Swin Cash trying to throw a crosscourt pass. Cash sailed in for the layup untouched, seemingly sealing the game. The Storm got another three from Jackson to cut the lead to three, but did not score again, losing 70-65. Bird finished with 21, Jackson 18. Detroit's leading scorers, Nolan and Cash, scored the same amount, Cash adding nine rebounds and six assists.

Weekly Happenings

Bird went for 20 or more points for the third time this season at Detroit. D. Lippitt/NBAE/Getty

Big Difference
While the Storm fell out of the top spot in the WNBA last week, the team still has the top point differential in the league. John Hollinger of CNNSI.com has developed an Expected Wins tool that uses point differential to predict what a team's record should be. Using that measure, the Storm's +6.6 point differential should produce a 12-5 record, two games better than the Storm has been thus far.

The reason for that is that the Storm's wins have been much larger than its losses. On average, the Storm's 10 wins have come by 14.4 points, its seven losses by an average of 4.7 points - and none larger than eight points. The Storm's last loss by double-figures came on Aug. 15 of last year at Phoenix. The Storm has struggled in close games, going just 4-7 in games decided by ten points or less and losing the last five close games it has played.

20 in 20
When Jackson scored 20 points in the first half at Washington, it marked the seventh time in the last two seasons she's scored at least 20 points in a 20-minute half. The complete list:

Date Opp Pts Half 6/7/03 PHO 20 2nd 7/20/03 @ MIN 20 2nd 7/23/03 NYL 22 2nd 8/6/03 LAS 22 1st 5/20/04 MIN 20 2nd 7/3/04 SAC 23 1st 7/7/04 @ WAS 20 1st

Injury Report