Storm Tracker (July 18-24)

WEEKLY LEADERS

POINTS
Jackson - 15.5
Lennox - 14.0
Castro - 13.5
Burse - 11.5
Bird - 11.0

REBOUNDS
Burse - 7.5
Jackson - 6.0
Lennox - 4.0
Batkovic - 3.0
3 with - 2.0

ASSISTS
Bird - 4.5
Jackson - 2.5
Lennox - 2.0

storm.wnba.com PLAYER OF THE WEEK

None
In a major break with Storm Tracker tradition, no Player of the Week will be awarded this week to reflect the fact that the Storm's performance this week, even more so than is typical, was a team effort. All five Storm starters averaged double-figures, but it was the young bench that helped get runs started in both games. During the current four-game winning streak, the Storm is clicking as a unit and should be honored as such.

July 18-24
Record for the week: 2-0
Overall Record: 12-10
Standing: tie 3rd, Western Conference

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Kevin Pelton, storm.wnba.com

July 19, 2005 - Recap | Box | Quotes/Notes | Press Row | Photo Gallery

	New York	26	52	78
	at Storm	45	42	87

The Storm returned home to take on the New York Liberty Tuesday. A tight game early was blown open when the Storm went on a 26-2 run, holding New York scoreless for over six minutes. The Storm took a 19-point lead to the half, and were up 68-48 with 7:16 to play when

Lauren Jackson left the game with a sprained right ankle. The injury deflated the Storm, with New York going on a 20-3 run to get as close as seven with 4:22 to play. The Storm got seven straight points from

Suzy Batkovic and made free throws down the stretch to hang on, 87-78.

Iziane Castro Marques scored a career-high 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting, while

Janell Burse (15 points, 11 boards) recorded her third career double-double.

Becky Hammon's 18 points led New York.

July 23, 2005 - Recap | Box | Quotes/Notes | Press Row | Photo Gallery

	Detroit	44	27	71
	at Storm	44	30	74

With ABC in the house, the Storm hosted Detroit Saturday afternoon in a matchup of the last two WNBA Champions. Early it was all Storm, as Seattle led by as many as 15 points. The Shock answered with a 10-0 run, however, pulling even by halftime. The game would stay tight throughout the second half, with neither team leading by more than five points. A

Ruth Riley free throw tied the game at 71-all with 39.0 seconds left. After a 20-second timeout, the Storm got a

Betty Lennox jumper on the inbounds to go up two.

Deanna Nolan got a good look at a go-ahead 3, but it was off as was Nolan's desperation tying attempt at the buzzer as the Storm won 74-71. Jackson led the way with 21 points, while Nolan had 22 and

Cheryl Ford 15 points and 16 rebounds for Detroit.

Weekly Happenings

Natalia Vodopyanova pulls down a rebound. Visit the new Photo Galleries page for more Storm photos.
Jeff Reinking/NBAE/Getty

LJ Sprains an Ankle
The Storm saw one of its worst fears realized Tuesday when Jackson went down with a sprained ankle late in the win over the Liberty. Jackson needed help to get to the locker room, which made the injury appear serious, but she later asked to re-enter the game (not a consideration with the game in hand).

"I was a bit in shock, I think," Jackson later explained.

Jackson missed Wednesday's practice and took Thursday off along with her teammates, but was back on the court for Friday's practice and played 37 minutes against the Shock, scoring a team-high 21 points.

G4 Showing Strength
With rookie Natalia Vodopyanova replacing Alicia Thompson in the rotation at small forward, the Storm now has four rookies in the rotation coming off the bench. The group, nicknamed 'The G4 Summit' by Storm play-by-play broadcaster David Locke (with a large assist to radio engineer Garry Greth) because of its international makeup, was on the court together in the first half of Tuesday's win over the Liberty and helped the Storm start the 26-2 run that broke the game open. Storm.wnba.com had more on the rookies last week.