Storm Tracker (Aug. 8-14)
| WEEKLY LEADERS |
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POINTS
Jackson - 20.0
Bird - 14.7
Burse - 11.0
Wright - 8.0
Castro - 6.7
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REBOUNDS
Jackson - 9.3
Burse - 7.7
Bird - 3.7
Wright - 3.0
Castro - 2.7
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ASSISTS
Bird - 4.3
Jackson - 3.3
Wright - 2.3
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storm.wnba.com PLAYER OF THE WEEK |
 Lauren Jackson
20.7 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 3.3 apg, 2.0 bpg, 55.3% fgs, 16-19 fts
In running, it's known as the finishing kick - a burst of speed towards the finish. As she goes about helping the Storm's push to the playoffs and her campaign for a second MVP award, Jackson is displaying her own finishing kick, playing outstanding basketball in all three games last week. After scoring 27 points against Houston, Jackson recorded a double-double at Minnesota (17 points, 10 rebounds) and tied her career high with five assists (she also sealed the game with a late blocked shot). In Houston, Jackson was a rebound away from her second straight double-double.
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August 8-14
Record for the week: 2-1
Overall Record: 16-13
Standing: 3rd, Western Conference
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Kevin Pelton, storm.wnba.com
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Houston |
30 |
38 |
68 |
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at Storm |
36 |
35 |
71 |
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Tuesday in Seattle, the Storm and the Houston Comets squared off in what turned out to be an MVP duel. 2000 and 2002 winner
Sheryl Swoopes had a career-high 34 points for Houston and was unstoppable as the Comets rallied in the second half, when she scored 25 points. 2003 winner Jackson answered with 27 points and nine boards. She set up
Simone Edwards for a shot-clock-beating layup with 47 seconds left that pushed the Storm's lead to five, but Swoopes answered and the Storm missed, giving Houston a chance to tie the game with a 3. After Jackson slipped,
Tina Thompson got a good look at a shot that would have sent the game to overtime, but it missed, giving the Storm a 71-68 win.
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Storm |
39 |
33 |
72 |
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at Minnesota |
33 |
33 |
66 |
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Friday, the Storm started a quick two-game road trip in Minnesota. The pesky Lynx, playing a day after losing in overtime in Detroit, rarely led but were never out of it either. A 15-2 run gave Seattle an 11-point lead with 9:42 left, but the Lynx rallied to get within four with possession in the final minute. But
Stacey Lovelace's jumper was off,
Sue Bird hit two free throws and Jackson's block on
Chandi Jones sealed the 72-66 win. Bird's season-high-tying 20 points keyed the Storm, while Jackson added 17 points and 10 boards. Jones had the best game of her WNBA career for Minnesota, scoring a career-high 16 points and tying her career high with six assists.
Vanessa Hayden had 14 points and 11 rebounds.
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Storm |
26 |
46 |
72 |
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at Houston |
29 |
46 |
75 |
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Sunday, the Storm was in Houston for a rematch with the Comets. After a tight first half, timely scores from Bird (who scored all 14 of her points in the last 13 minutes) kept Houston from breaking the game open. After Comets guard
Janeth Arcain missed a pair of free throws, the Storm got the ball back down three in the final 20 seconds. Jackson's shot was blocked by Swoopes, but out of bounds, giving the Storm another chance. Bird set up for a 3 that could have sent the game to overtime, but it was off and Houston held on for a three-point win of its own, 75-72. Swoopes again led the Comets with 23 points despite woozy after a collision at the end of the first half, but it was
Michelle Snow (20 points) who was the Comets go-to player down the stretch. Jackson had 18 for the Storm, who also got a career-high 13 points from rookie
Tanisha Wright and a double-double (15 points, 11 boards) from
Janell Burse.
Weekly Happenings
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Storm rookie Tanisha Wright scored a career-high 13 points Sunday in Houston. Visit the new Photo Galleries page for more Storm photos.
Juan Ocampo/NBAE/Getty
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Lennox Still Sidelined
Monday evening, following a visit with a specialist, the Storm announced that guard Betty Lennox, who injured her left wrist the previous Thursday in Indiana, has a partial tear of the scaphoid-lunate ligament in her left wrist. Lennox missed all three games this week and has worn a protective splint to keep the wrist in place.
"She gets the splint off - and I don't think it's off all the way - tomorrow," Donovan explained before Tuesday's game. "She's got a lot of blood in her wrist, and they've got to get the blood and the swelling out and then work on range of motion. One day at a time."
Storm Playoff Picture
Sunday's loss at Houston left the Storm and Comets tied for the key second seed in the West. If the playoffs ended today, the Storm would have home-court in the series with Houston by virtue of their superior conference record (the teams split the season series at two, forcing us to go to the second tie-breaker). Because there are nothing but conference games left for both teams, any possible tie would see the Storm have the better conference record.
It appears that if the Storm wins three more games, that would be enough to secure a playoff spot. A 19-15 record would eliminate Minnesota. For Los Angeles not to be eliminated, they would have to win both of their remaining games with Houston, which would give Houston at best a 19-15 record. The Storm and Sparks would be favored by a three-way tie amongst the teams because of their head-to-head records, eliminating Houston:
Team W L GB Storm Conf 500+ H/A 500+
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Sacramento 20 8 - 1-0 12-4 8-6 3/3 2/4
Seattle 16 13 4.5 9-8 8-7 3/2 2/3
Houston 16 13 4.5 2-2 8-9 9-8 2/3 0/5
Phoenix 13 14 6.5 1-1 10-6 4-12 4/3 5/2
LA 13 15 7.0 2-2 9-8 8-10 4/2 4/2
Minnesota 13 16 7.5 1-2 8-9 7-11 2/3 3/2
Around the Web
The Seattle Times' Jayda Evans has more on Lennox's status.
Mark Bergin of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer looks at the Storm's matchup with the Comets, which could come in important later this month.
The Storm is entering the stretch run of its season, reports Wendy Carpenter of The News Tribune.
The Week Ahead
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