Storm end Shock’s winning streak
SEATTLE – Lauren Jackson scored 10 of her 24 points in the third quarter and the Seattle Storm beat Detroit 75-67 on Saturday night, ending the Shock’s six-game winning streak.
Seattle (6-3) jumped off to a fast start and held off a late rally by the Shock to snap its two-game skid.
Jackson shot 9 for 11 from the field and made all five of her free throws. She had six rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots.
“Lauren is a tremendously tough matchup for everybody because she’s so versatile and can score from anywhere on the floor,” Seattle coach Brian Agler said.
The Storm held Detroit’s red-hot Katie Smith to 18 points after she had scored 30 and 33 points in her previous two games.
“Katie’s on a roll,” Agler said. “She didn’t get her 30 tonight, she got 18, so we held her under her weekly average.”
Sheryl Swoopes had 15 points and Sue Bird added 14 points and eight assists for the Storm, who have won nine straight at home dating back to last season – just one short of the franchise record set in 2006.
Smith scored 11 points in the final quarter for Detroit (7-2). Kara Braxton had 14 points and made a career-high eight free throws. Plenette Pierson added nine points and 10 rebounds.
“We didn’t make a lot of shots early and got off to a slow start,” Smith said. “We dug ourselves a hole and hung around that six-to-12-point margin and couldn’t quite get over the hump.”
Detroit cut a 12-point deficit to 69-63 on two free throws by Braxton with 2:35 remaining. But back-to-back 3-pointers by Bird and Swoopes gave the Storm a 75-63 lead.
“They were in a zone and to make a zone pay, you’ve got to knock down your open shots,” Bird said. “I just let it fly.”
Agler enjoyed the 3-pointer by Swoopes.
“It was a vintage Sheryl Swoopes 3-point shot late in the game, which was a big shot for us,” Agler said.
Jackson hit a 3 and all four of her shots from the field in the third quarter as the Storm led by as many as 14.
“We were just trying to win,” Jackson said. “We had lost two in a row and it was frustrating losing. But just being able to win the way we did with everyone playing well, it felt good.”
The Storm spurted to a 13-2 lead and kept at least a five-point lead the rest of the first half as the Shock struggled from the field.
Bird scored seven and Jackson had six in the second quarter to help give the Storm a 40-28 halftime lead and their most points in a half this season.
Detroit guard Deanna Nolan shot 2 for 15 from the field and had five points.
“Our guards are where we really thrive and for our guards to shoot as poorly as they did tonight, it just put us in a little bit of hole,” Detroit coach Bill Laimbeer said.