WEEKLY LEADERS
POINTS Bird - 18.3 Lennox - 14.0 Vodichkova - 11.7 Bevilaqua - 5.7 Burse/Thompson - 5.0 REBOUNDS Vodichkova - 7.7 Edwards - 5.3 Lennox - 4.3 Burse - 4.0 Sam - 4.0 ASSISTS Bird - 3.7 Thompson - 2.5 Vodichkova - 2.3
storm.wnba.com PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jeff Reinking/NBAE/Getty Sue Bird 18.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 3.7 apg, 1.3 spg, 55.9% fg, 10-17 threes Despite looking weary from travel as recently as Tuesday's practice, Bird took on the challenge of carrying the Storm offense last week and succeeded. Though she struggled in the team's third game in four nights Saturday at Phoenix, shooting 3-for-12 from the field, she still shot a sizzling 55.9% from the field for the week, including 10-for-17 (58.8%) from three-point range. Bird did that despite heavy defensive pressure, as opposing teams keyed on her as the Storm's go-to player. At the end of the game against the Mercury, Phoenix Coach Carrie Graf used Nikki McCray specifically to deny Bird the basketball; McCray attempted just one shot in 13 minutes of action. Still, Bird managed to show her high-scoring ability that hasn't been on display much this season as she's willingly deferred to her teammates.

Sep. 1-5
Record for the week: 0-3
Overall Record: 17-11
Standing: 2nd, Western Conference

Wednesday, Sep. 1, 2004

Sacramento 45 28 73 at Storm 36 29 65

The Storm returned to action after the month-long Olympics break at KeyArena against the Sacramento Monarchs. A short-handed Storm roster struggled in the first half. A 10-0 run gave the Monarchs an 11-point lead at the 7:40 mark, though the Storm rallied to get back within two. Any Storm momentum was lost when Sacramento scored twice in the final 10 seconds to take a nine-point lead to the half. After halftime, the Storm made several runs, but were never able to get any closer than five points. The last time that happened came on a Sue Bird three with 1:46 left, but Sacramento's Tangela Smith answered with a jumper to seal the game. The Monarchs finished with a 73-65 victory largely on the back of Olympian Yolanda Griffith, who had 12 points on 5-for-5 shooting in the second half and finished with 18 points and eight rebounds. The backcourt of Bird (18 points), Betty Lennox (19) and Tully Bevilaqua (10) combined for 47 of the Storm's 65 points and the Storm was outscored in the paint 38-18 and outrebounded 35-28.

Friday, Sep. 3, 2004

Storm 40 41 81 at Los Angeles 40 42 82

With Lauren Jackson, DeLisha Milton-Jones and Mwadi Mabika all out of the lineup, the Storm's Friday matchup with the Sparks in Los Angeles lost some of its luster. Still, the game was a must-win for the Storm in order to stay within striking distance of the Sparks in the battle for the top spot in the Western Conference. The Storm started quickly and led most of the early going, but the game tightened up considerably and was tied at 40 heading to halftime. It stayed tight during the second half, but with the Sparks largely in command. The largest lead of the game, eight, came with 7:12 to play, but the Storm responded with an 11-4 run to get within one just under the four-minute mark. Lennox put Seattle ahead 77-76 at the 2:53 mark, but the Sparks scored the next five points to go up four when the Storm took possession with under a minute to play. Lennox came up clutch, hitting a three-pointer while being fouled by Lisa Leslie. After a double lane violation, Lennox hit the free throw to tie the game. The Sparks looked to work the ball to Leslie on their ensuing possession, and she was fouled in the post by Janell Burse. The 69.6% free-throw shooter missed her first attempt but hit her second to put L.A. up one. The Storm had a chance to win, but Bird's jumper was off, as was a tip attempt by Kamila Vodichkova, and the Sparks escaped with an 82-81 win. Leslie finished with 26 points on 11-for-15 shooting, Tamecka Dixon adding a season-high 20 points and Nikki Teasley scoring 14. Bird had her best output in over a year with 25 points, making nine of her 11 shots. Lennox added 18, Vodichkova 17 and eight rebounds.

Saturday, Sep. 4, 2004

Storm 26 29 55 at Phoenix 26 37 63

As if playing a back-to-back on the road against one of the WNBA's hottest teams wasn't enough, the Storm got stranded at Los Angeles International Airport for six hours Saturday morning after a security problem closed the airport. Despite arriving in Phoenix just hours before game time, the Storm opened up a 22-12 lead a little more than halfway through the first half. The Storm offense scored just four points the rest of the way, however, and went to halftime tied for the second straight game. Seattle held a lead as large as five in the early part of the second half, but after going up 42-41, the Mercury would not trail again. Diana Taurasi was huge for Phoenix, scoring nine points during an 11-5 Mercury run. Despite poor free-throw shooting from Bird and Burse, the Storm was within three points in the final minute after two Sheri Sam free throws. Phoenix isolated Taurasi on the perimeter, and she canned a clutch three-pointer that finished off the Storm. The Mercury added two free throws to win 63-55, sending the Storm to its third straight defeat. Olympians Taurasi and Penny Taylor had 18 points apiece, Taurasi scoring 14 after the break. The Storm, which shot just 29.5% from the field, had only Bird and Vodichkova, with 12 points apiece, in double-figures.

Weekly Happenings

Despite suffering from a slight tear of her right quad muscle, Burse played a key role off the bench. Jeff Reinking/NBAE/Getty

Missing LJ
Hours before returning from the Olympics break Wednesday against Sacramento, the Storm placed Jackson on the injured list with a right mid-foot sprain. Jackson had been bothered by her foot while playing in the Olympics in Athens, but the severity of the injury wasn't known until she returned to Seattle. With three games in four nights forthcoming, Jackson was placed on the injured list. The move also allowed Jackson to return home to be with her ill grandmother.

STORM WITHOUT LJ
Year	w/LJ	no LJ
2001	10-19	0-3
2002	14-14	3-1
2003	18-15	0-1
2004	17-8	0-3
TOTAL	59-56	3-8

The Storm has now played 11 games without Jackson over the course of her four-year career, going 3-8 in those games. When Jackson missed the first four games of 2002 because of a sprained ankle, the Storm took advantage of a relatively weak schedule to start the year 3-1. Besides that stretch, however, the Storm has lost all seven of its games sans LJ.

Battle for Positioning
While the Storm was going 0-3 in Jackson's absence, the Monarchs and Mercury were both hot, winning their first three games in September. As a result, the Western Conference playoff picture has muddled. Los Angeles has taken a four-game lead on the Storm and recently became the first WNBA team to clinch a playoff spot. Barring a collapse, the Sparks will again be the West's top seed. The Minnesota Lynx, 1-1 in their first two games without their injured star, Katie Smith, now sit a game behind the Storm in the race for second place with a matchup set for this Friday in Minnesota. The Storm does own the tiebreaker against the Lynx.

Phoenix and Sacramento, fighting for their playoff lives, have pulled within a game of the Lynx and are now just two games back of the Storm. With just six games left on the schedule, every game counts for the Storm and its opponents.