Storm steals a win, keeps its season alive

SEATTLE —

Storm forward Camille Little had no worries that her team was 10 seconds from the possible end of its season.

She just stayed in the moment.

Little made a miraculous tip of the ball for a steal, raced down court and nailed the game-winning basket with five seconds left to give the Storm a 75-74 win over Los Angeles in Game 2 of their first-round WNBA playoff series Friday night at KeyArena.

Even at one game apiece in the best-of-three series, the teams play Sunday at KeyArena for the right to move on to the Western Conference finals.

"I had to get there any kind of way," said Little, whose heroics were set up by Sue Bird's three-pointer with 10.7 seconds left to cut the deficit to 74-73. "I'm just glad it went in and we're here to experience it," said Little of the layin after her pivotal in-bounds steal off a pass from Noelle Quinn to DeLisha Milton-Jones. "When I saw that ball go in the air, I got a hand on it. You really can't think. We're athletes. This is our job, so it should be something that we should do."

With teammate Ashley Robinson blocking Quinn's view, Little side-tipped the ball to guard Tanisha Wright. In a heated tussle, she snatched the ball from Sparks forward Tina Thompson and threw it downcourt to Little for the breakaway layup.

But the Storm couldn't quite celebrate with the crowd of 8,854.

The players had to play defense, and Lisa Leslie's 15-footer missed before the final horn sound.

"That was another lifeline," said Storm guard Swin Cash of Little's basket. Cash led the Storm with a game-high 18 points and five rebounds.

"We didn't give up," Cash continued. "That's why you play the game for 40 minutes and not 39 or 38. The whole mentality was to get to Sunday. Our crowd was into it, and they were phenomenal. And I know there's a lot going on in Seattle this weekend, but they were here.

"I believe coach Brian Agler's exact words were, 'OK, you can enjoy this for about an hour.' We understand it's unfinished business. Everyone was more excited for players like Ashley and Suzy, players who haven't played that much but had the opportunity to make plays. But we're focusing on Sunday."

The Storm trailed by 11 points early in the third quarter, but a 14-2 run gave Seattle a 48-47 lead. Seattle led 63-55 with 8:33 left in the fourth quarter, but the Sparks rallied. Leslie's tip-in with 27.9 seconds left gave Los Angeles a 72-70 lead, and Thompson made two free throws with 14.7 seconds left to make it 74-70.

Bird then hit one of her signature late-game three-pointers, and Little's layup decided the game.

"All they've done is what they were supposed to do — win on their home court," said Sparks coach Michael Cooper, whose team has booted the Storm from the postseason three times. "[Lakers] coach Pat Riley used to tell us that the playoffs don't begin until one team wins on the other team's homecourt."

The Storm will be without two-time MVP Lauren Jackson because of a stress fracture in her lower back. But the team received extra motivation on Friday when veteran reserve guard Shannon Johnson announced her retirement after 11 WNBA seasons.

"She really wants to win a WNBA championship, and I can speak for the team when I say we would love to help her achieve that goal," said Bird, who had 15 points and five assists.

LOS ANGELES		fg	ft
min		m-a	m-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Thompson	35:43	5-12	2-2	3-8	3	3	14
Parker	38:36	6-11	3-6	3-9	0	3	15
Leslie	36:55	5-13	2-4	8-14	2	4	12
Harrower	11:21	1-4	0-0	0-0	1	0	2
Milton-Jones	27:54	2-7	4-4	1-2	4	2	8
Quinn	28:39	3-8	0-0	2-3	5	1	6
Lennox	20:52	7-12	1-1	0-4	3	0	17
Totals		29-67	12-17	17-40	18	13	74

Percentages: FG .433, FT .706. Three-point goals: 4-13, .308 (Lennox 2-3, Thompson 2-4, Milton-Jones 0-1, Parker 0-1, Harrower 0-2, Quinn 0-2). Team rebounds: 10. Team turnovers: 19 (28 PTS). Blocked shots: 3 (Leslie, Parker, Quinn). Turnovers: 18 (Parker 5, Quinn 5, Thompson 4, Milton-Jones 2, Harrower, Lennox). Steals: 11 (Parker 3, Quinn 3, Leslie 2, Milton-Jones 2, Lennox). Technical fouls: Milton-Jones, 1:46 third.

SEATTLE		fg	ft
min		m-a	m-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Cash	37:09	7-14	3-4	3-5	1	3	18
Little	32:19	4-6	0-0	1-4	1	5	8
Burse	9:46	0-3	0-0	0-3	1	2	0
Bird	37:04	5-12	1-2	0-2	5	1	15
Wright	36:34	6-16	3-3	3-6	9	3	15
Batkovic	29:47	5-10	2-2	0-2	0	2	14
Johnson	9:13	2-2	0-0	0-2	0	0	5
Robinson	8:08	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	1	0
Totals		29-63	9-11	7-24	17	17	75

Percentages: FG .460, FT .818. Three-point goals: 8-13, .615 (Bird 4-6, Batkovic 2-3, Johnson 1-1, Cash 1-2, Wright 0-1). Team rebounds: 5. Team turnovers: 16 (17 PTS). Blocked shots: 6 (Batkovic 3, Cash, Little, Robinson). Turnovers: 15 (Batkovic 4, Wright 4, Johnson 3, Bird, Burse, Cash, Robinson). Steals: 10 (Cash 3, Batkovic 2, Bird 2, Johnson, Little, Wright). Technical fouls: Little, 1:46 third.

Los Angeles	20	23	12	19 — 74
Seattle	18	16	22	19 — 75

Attendance: 8,854 (17,098). Time: 1:55. Officials: Michael Price, Cameron Inouye, Josh Tiven.