Storm
Lennox powers Storm victory

By PAT BORZI
Special to The Seattle Times

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MINNEAPOLIS — Bounding down the hallway to catch her teammates at Target Center last night, Betty Lennox found a familiar person on her way to the locker room. Minnesota owner Glen Taylor smiled and hugged Lennox, a former Lynx player, even though Lennox's season-high 23 points had just keyed the Seattle Storm's 70-55 victory.

"Hopefully we'll see you in the playoffs," Taylor said. "Hopefully, we're going to make it."

Seattle has no such concerns, and Lennox helped make sure the Storm shook its recent shooting funk. In Wednesday night's 80-55 embarrassment in Houston, Seattle forward Lauren Jackson was the only player in double figures. The Storm passed and shot much better last night against a surging Minnesota team missing leading scorer and catalyst Katie Smith (bruised right knee).

With Jackson double-teamed and contained — she scored only 11 points on 4-for-15 shooting — Lennox and Sue Bird (12 points) picked up the scoring load, combining to shoot 12 for 25. And while center Kamila Vodichkova battled foul trouble, Simone Edwards provided a boost off the bench (eight points, nine rebounds), a rarity since Janell Burse went on the injured list July 22.

"We came off a horrible loss to Houston, and it really demoralized the team," Lennox said. "The coaches stressed we needed to come out fighting and play with some intensity. I felt we were able to accomplish both those things tonight, and we got our character back."

Seattle coach Anne Donovan added: "We're a better team when we have scoring balance like this. Lauren Jackson is capable of going off for 25 or 30 points every night, but when she does that, that's not when we're playing our best. We're at our best when we're sharing the ball, not when we're standing around waiting for Lauren."

With the victory — its first in Minnesota since 2000 — the Storm moved 1-1/2 games behind Los Angeles for the Western Conference lead and opened a 2-1/2-game gap on the Lynx for second with one game left before the Olympic break. The Storm also clinched the season series with the Lynx, whom it only plays three times; their final meeting is here on Sept. 10.

"We came off a tough loss, and I think some doubt started to creep into the locker room," Jackson said. "Who knows what would have happened if we would have lost this game and went into the (Olympic) break on a skid? This win gets us back on track, and puts us in great position once the season resumes."

Bird, encouraged by the coaches to shoot early, hit her first three attempts, two of them three-pointers, and scored 10 points in the first 10:42. But it was Lennox who took over after halftime, scoring 17 points to help the Storm extend a four-point lead to 63-43 with 4:47 to play.
 
Five quick points by Vodichkova in the first two minutes of the second half helped put the Storm up 39-29. The Storm had built 57-41 advantage when Lennox returned to the game after a brief rest and took over. In the next four minutes, Lennox scored 10 consecutive Seattle points — two runners, a driving layup and four foul shots — to hold off the pressing Lynx and put the game out of reach. Minnesota shot 29.3 percent and committed 18 turnovers.

"We played with them in the first half and made a nice spurt at the end," Minnesota coach Suzie McConnell Serio said. "They took over the game in the second half and never looked back."

Not even Lennox, the 2000 WNBA Rookie of the Year for the Lynx who was dealt to Miami during the 2002 season.

"I have no extra motivation coming back here and playing," she said. "I've long forgotten all the bad stuff that happened when I was here, and now I just enjoy playing for the fans."

Even the one who owns her former team.