Storm
Sun stop schemes stonewall Jackson

By Percy Allen
Seattle Times staff reporter

JIM BATES / THE SEATTLE TIMES Seattle's Lauren Jackson, getting fouled here by the Sun's Wendy Palmer, says Connecticut is "just a rough team. They keep throwing bodies at me."

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Folded inside her locker-room stall, Lauren Jackson sheepishly admitted the secret that has become blatantly apparent.

The Connecticut Sun defense is frustrating her and suffocating the life out of her offensive game.

Jackson's confession seemed more therapeutic than anything else as she pressed her knees against her chest and released several huge sighs. She had few definitive answers to the questions that followed Seattle's 67-65 victory last night in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals, which tied the best-of-three series.

What she does know is that few of her All-Star low-post moves are working and that her three-point shot, which was flawless in Game 3 of the Western Conference series, has been nearly non-existent in the Finals.

She'd swear that there's a defender's elbow permanently lodged in her back and that she's constantly being raked across the arms whenever she shoots.

The Sun isn't doing anything that she hasn't seen before, but it's doing it better than any team that she can remember.

"They are tough physically, really rough," Jackson said. "They are just a rough team. They keep throwing bodies at me, but we can counter that.

"Where they're getting me is when I go for an (offensive) rebound. They're underneath me and not letting me get position."

Still, Jackson nearly equaled her scoring tally in Game 1 and finished with 15 points on 5-of-15 shooting last night at KeyArena. In the opener, she converted 6 of 19 shots for 16 points.

Her 15.5-point average in the Finals is five below her regular-season average of 20.5.
 
The dropoff would be devastating for the uber-competitive Jackson if not for the win and the fact she held Connecticut's Taj McWilliams-Franklin to a humbling two points on 1-for-11 shooting.

"I don't know how many blocked shots she had, but even if it was zero, do you know how many she's changed?" Storm teammate Sue Bird said. "How many times she makes people think twice?

"The best thing about Lauren is I'm confident that if Lindsey Whalen gets by me, then she's got to make a shot over Lauren or a play around Lauren, you know? Six-5 with long arms, she clogs up the middle. Regardless if her shots are falling, she's a playmaker."

With Jackson in the middle and forward Wendy Palmer-Daniel, who played just 14 minutes because of a right shoulder strain, on the bench, the Sun had few scoring opportunities beneath the rim.

Palmer-Daniel notched 16 points Friday, but Asjha Jones, who replaced her, finished with just one point.

The scoring drought from the post forced Connecticut to ride the shoulders of Nykesha Sales, who finished with a Finals-record 32 points.

"When she's going like that, other than playing a zone, there's very little that you can do," Jackson said. "We weren't prepared for her three-pointers. That's something we hadn't seen before, but I'm sure (coach) Anne (Donovan) will come up with something."

At times last night, Jackson looked exasperated, fatigued and defeated.

The end of her basketball odyssey, which included a stint in the Russian playoffs, the Athens Olympics and the Australian equivalent to the WNBA, is nearly over. She said she's eagerly anticipating a vacation and a chance to rest her sore foot.

All that remains is one more game and one more opportunity to solve the riddle that is the Connecticut defense.

Bird was asked if Jackson was due for a breakout game. The Storm guard declined to give a straight answer, but seemed to know that her teammate only endured a three-game stretch where she didn't score at least 20 points just once during the regular season.

"Let's not talk about that," she said. "I don't want to jinx her or anything. We'll see what happens in Game 3."

Percy Allen: 206-464-2278 or pallen@seattletimes.com