WNBA
Sales taxes Storm with 32

By Bob Sherwin
Seattle Times staff reporter

JIM BATES / THE SEATTLE TIMES Connecticut's Nykesha Sales, right, steals the ball from Seattle's Sue Bird (10) in the backcourt and drives for two of her 32 points to cut the Storm's lead to three points in the final minutes.

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Nykesha Sales tried to define the indefinable, how suddenly she discovered a shooting zone against the Storm last night that no one in the modest history of the WNBA Finals had ever seen.

"I don't even know," said the 6-foot Connecticut Sun guard/forward after scoring a Finals-record 32 points in Game 2. "I was just jacking them up, man."

Sales, a six-year WNBA veteran, more than doubled her season average of 14.2 points per game. Houston's Sheryl Swoopes set the previous WNBA Finals high, 31, in overtime against New York on Aug. 26, 2000.

Sales' 14 field goals (in 22 attempts) were also a playoff record. Her points, field goals attempted and field goals made represented her career highs, as well.

"I think the first game we got a lot inside, so I think they were trying to pack it in a little more, which opened up a lot more for the guards," Sales said. "Once I saw that, I felt I had more opportunities maybe just spotting up and shooting off the dribble.

"Definitely, the ball was going in; sometimes when the ball goes in you've got to keep shooting it. And the ball was going in for me."

Right up until the end, after Connecticut had trimmed a 13-point deficit to two, 67-65, and had the ball and a timeout with 3.1 seconds left.

For the game's final play, Sun coach Mike Thibault set up three options off a screen, but really there was only one — Sales.

Lindsay Whalen took the inbounds pass on the fly down the left side. She moved around a screen, then kicked the ball across to a surprisingly wide-open Sales in the right corner. But her three-point shot hit the right side of the backboard and fell to the floor. The sold-out crowd erupted as the Storm survived, tying the series at one game apiece.

Sales was so wrapped up in her zone that it wasn't until later she realized the significance of her final shot.
 
"I knew we were down two and thinking it would tie up the game and put it into overtime," she said. "But the three was for the win. You get so caught up in everything that was going on. When the game was over and I went to the locker room, I realized that was for the championship.

"But you have to let it go now. You still have another opportunity."

The two teams return to the KeyArena floor at 6 p.m. tomorrow for the deciding Game 3 and the WNBA championship. Neither team has ever won the title.

"I thought our last shot was in," Thibault said. "She got herself too deep in the corner. But she carried us on her back. We got the shot we wanted."

Sales, the former University of Connecticut star who was Orlando's inaugural player in 1999, said, "It was a tough shot for me, being a right-handed shooter and being on the baseline. I had to change the shot a little bit. If it was on the other side I think it would have lined up better. It was a good look."

Sales scored 21 of her 32 points in the second half, as she and Storm guard Betty Lennox matched stroke for stroke. Lennox scored 16 of her 27 points in the second half as she set a playoff record. Lennox's .688 shooting percentage (11 of 16) broke the record of .625 (10 of 16), set by Phoenix's Michelle Griffiths against Houston on Sept. 1, 1998.

"Two players that weren't highlighted coming into this series took over," said Storm coach Ann Donovan. "One great play after another at both ends."

With the Storm leading by seven, 54-47 inside 7-1/2 minutes, Sales hit the first of two straight 22-foot three-pointers. Her second three-pointer brought the Sun to two points behind, 57-55, with 6:12 left. Then Sales, taking advantage of a screen that gave her some distance from defender Sheri Sam, laid one off the glass for the game's only tie, at 57, with 5:20 left.

The Storm opened up the gap to six points, but Sales stole an inbounds pass by Sue Bird and finished with a layin to draw the Sun to 65-62 with 1:21 left.

About a minute later, Sales hit a quick-release three-pointer that stunned the crowd, making it 67-65 with 37.8 seconds left.

But Sales' final miss brings everyone back for one more tomorrow.

"That was an incredible spectator game," Donovan added.

Bob Sherwin: 206-464-8286 or bsherwin@seattletimes.com