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Seattle Snaps Sky Streak
Posted Friday, September 5, 2008
 Jia Perkin shoots over the Seattle defense on her way to a game-high 22 points. Photo by Amy Lugibihl. |
CHICAGO - The Seattle Storm has been without 2007 WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson since the Olympics due to an ankle injury. The team, however, still has Sue Bird and in her, it may have the MVP for 2008.
Bird scored 13 of her 19 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Storm to a come-from-behind 70-62 win over the host Chicago Sky Thursday night in front of a crowd that included WNBA President Donna Orender.
Seattle (20-10) clinched a playoff spot with this win.
Chicago (11-18) was attempting a franchise-record fourth win in row. The Sky has never beaten the Storm.
The Storm, down 11 with 3:15 left in the third, went on an 8-1 run to close the deficit to 52-48 at the end of three. A Bird 3-pointer with 8:56 left in the game gave the Storm its first lead at 54-52. The Storm scored the last seven points of the game, including five by Bird.
“We did not come out with our normal aggression. We were having a lot of breakdowns both offensive and defensively,” said Bird of her team’s early woes.
Bird finished with 19 points, four assists, and three rebounds. Camille Little had 13 points and five rebounds and center Yolanda Griffith 10 points and six rebounds for the Storm.
For the Sky, this was another game of missed opportunities. Behind Jia Perkins’ 10 first-quarter points, the Sky jumped out to a 20-10 first quarter lead. Perkins scored 22 for the game. The Sky shot just 9-16 from the line for the game and had 17 turnovers. Candice Dupree scored seven points, 10 points below her average.
Seattle Coach Brian Agler was quick to give credit to an opponent that led his team for 33:00 in this game.
“Chicago has a very good basketball team," Agler said. "Right now, how they are playing, they are a playoff team. There is probably a chance that they are going to be better than some teams that are in the playoffs. They are capable of being an excellent team.”
Agler also realized the worth of one of his own players.
“Sue {Bird] is just a great player and the Most Valuable Player in this league.”
Seattle hosts the Lynx on September 6th while the Sky, now 3.0 games behind Indiana for the final playoff spot, hosts the Connecticut Sun on Friday, September 5th.
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