Storm rallies from 22-point, third-quarter deficit to win

The final shot wasn't supposed to go in.

Then again, the Storm wasn't supposed to win.

Not when you're down 22 points midway through the third quarter and your offense is more stagnant than a pack of slugs. But Storm forward Lauren Jackson flipped up about a 60-foot shot and watched it drain as the final buzzer sounded to cap an 82-69 win against Houston in both teams' season opener Saturday at KeyArena.

"Normally those shots don't go in for me, so it's pretty exciting," said Jackson, who finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots.

As Jackson stood in disbelief, her teammates celebrated around her.

"We have a half-court-shot contest and hers was beautiful tonight," Storm guard Betty Lennox said. "She shouldn't have shot it, nobody thought it was going to go in, but that was pretty."

The improbable shot capped a fourth quarter in which Seattle outscored Houston 28-7.

The quarter started with gritty, aggressive defense from Jackson, who blocked an 11-footer by Tina Thompson, and saw solid shooting from guards Lennox, who finished with 15 points, and Sue Bird. The Storm opened the quarter with a 13-4 run, and Bird made a runner to give the Storm a 67-66 lead.

Lennox kept the newfound offensive flow going with short jumpers and drives to the basket that drew fouls. Houston, meanwhile, struggled to 3-of-16 shooting in the quarter.

"I let the game come to me, that's my new strategy this year," said Lennox, who had a team-high nine points in the fourth. "In the fourth quarter, we knew we had to come out and give it everything we got if we were going to get a win."

It was the Storm's first game together as a complete unit, as Iziane Castro Marques was the only starter to report to training camp on time while Jackson and Bird didn't arrive until May 11 and got in just five practices.

The All-Star duo was busy winning a championship in the Russian Superleague, with Thompson the go-to player on their Spartak Moscow Region team.

Jet lag appeared to affect Bird and Thompson more than Jackson.

Thompson shot 2 of 12 from the field and scored eight points. Bird said she didn't have any legs and finished the game 3 of 11 from the field, scoring 11 points and dishing out two assists in 28 minutes while not playing in the second quarter because of foul trouble.

Jackson was the most energetic, a change from the recent past when she has only played well in spurts while having her minutes and practices limited due to shin and foot injuries.

"I feel totally different," said Jackson, who still ices her shins and left foot after playing. "I just feel fitter. I can run a whole lot more and it's easy for me. The last two years have been a struggle just getting up and down the floor."

In the second quarter, it was a struggle for the Storm to score and play basic defense. Bird had two fouls, so Storm coach Anne Donovan turned to backup Tanisha Wright. But with Jackson the only starter on the court, the team was scoreless for five minutes as Houston went on an 11-0 run.

"We were trying too hard," Lennox said. "We know we've got all of the pieces. We know we got the energy, the players and the personnel. We just tried too hard and we realized that."

The Comets played their first game under new coach Karleen Thompson, who replaced Van Chancellor. Houston also has a new backcourt after Olympian Dawn Staley retired and Dominique Canty left in free agency.

"I saw many times Sheryl Swoopes calling the plays to let everybody know what they're running," said Castro Marques, who scored 18 of her 25 in the opening half. "She was frustrated a lot."

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