Storm
Jackson, Storm bite Big Apple

By Jayda Evans
Seattle Times staff reporter

TINA FINEBERG / AP Seattle's Lauren Jackson — with teammates (from left) Sue Bird, Sheri Sam and Adia Barnes — waves a towel in celebration of the Storm's 24-point blowout of the New York Liberty last night.

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NEW YORK — The city was too big in 2001. The honking taxi cabs, musty smell and mammoth buildings that seemingly climbed all the way to the heavens were too much for the then-19-year-old from Australia.

As Lauren Jackson sat in the studio, waiting to be drafted, she secretly wished the New York Liberty would pass her by. Even after leading her country to a silver medal in the 2000 Summer Olympics, Jackson didn't realize her stature was just as big as the New York skyline.

Returning last night as the WNBA's reigning MVP, Jackson is no longer intimidated.

And neither are her teammates, as the Storm smoked the Eastern Conference's best team, the Liberty, 86-62 at Madison Square Garden.

Arriving Saturday, to adjust to the time difference (wink, wink), Jackson attended the Broadway hit "The Lion King" and took photos with almost every wax statue at Madame Tussaud's with teammates. The only thing she skipped was shopping.

"I don't have any money at the moment," said Jackson, who also played in last season's All-Star Game in New York. "(But) this is the first time I did something other than basketball."

After the first half, the Liberty probably wished all Jackson did was play tourist.

On wobbly shins that provide a constant reminder of her stress fractures and her team trailing 13-5, Jackson charged down the court for a loose ball, crashing into the scorer's table. Moments later she hit a three-pointer to pull the Storm even, 13-13, and spark Seattle.

By halftime, Jackson had her third double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds. And eight minutes into the second half, she was chilling on the bench after helping Seattle on a 20-4 run that stunned the defensive-minded Liberty.

Needing to rest her star, Storm coach Anne Donovan kept Jackson out for the remainder of the game. But the Storm didn't lose intensity. None of the Liberty starters reached double figures until the 6:43 mark of the second half, and leading scorer Becky Hammon was held to four points on 1-of-6 shooting from the field.
 
As Donovan put rookie Michelle Greco into the game with 4:13 left, fans trickled out of the arena. Seattle's cheering was the only thing that could be heard as the team waltzed away with its fourth consecutive victory, handing New York its second-worst loss at home. The previous worst was a 25-point loss to Houston in 1998.

"We just stuck with it," said Jackson, whose team only had one turnover in the second half. "We've been talking about pulling our chemistry together and our defense so much. This proved it to ourselves and no one else. We've got a talented young team here and we're going to keep it going."

Donovan is still looking for consistency from her bench, but received solid play last night. With every player scoring, the reserves had their best showing except the blowout win at home over Los Angeles on May 22. The bench combined for 31 points, 16 rebounds, five steals, two blocks and one turnover. The Liberty's bench accounted for 25 points, 13 rebounds, two assists, and eight turnovers.

"I thought we looked very tired," said New York coach Richie Adubato, whose team is on a three-game losing streak. "We weren't sharp or crisp. Before the game we had motivation and were fired up, looking forward to playing a game on our home court. We'll need to make some adjustments before the next game. This was embarrassing and we have way too much pride to play like this in front of our home crowd."

The Storm (6-2) owns the best record in the WNBA for the first time in franchise history, but travels to play Houston — a team it has never beaten on the road.

Jayda Evans: 206-464-2067 or jevans@seattletimes.com