Notebook | Ailing Lennox resorts to comfy pair of old shoes

Storm star Betty Lennox was limping during shoot-around, but despite coach Anne Donovan questioning her shooting guard's ability to start, Lennox was ready to play by tipoff.

Call it good fortune.

Lennox has been suffering from a right Achilles tendon injury since arriving at training camp from play overseas. After resting the past three days, she thought it might be her shoes and not a need for orthotics to support the problem. So, she went to a shoe store before the game and purchased two pairs of Nike's discontinued women's Huaraches, the shoe she wore comfortably last summer.

"My shoe hit up against it and it's already tender," said Lennox of the situation on Wednesday morning with the newer shoes. "It aggravated it a little more. My biggest problem has been the shoes that I wear. I need to get more shoes to see what fits me because everybody is different."

Lennox's competitive nature wouldn't allow her to miss the game, especially against the defending champion Detroit Shock. Donovan could have pulled from either guards Tanisha Wright or rookie Katie Gearlds to start in Lennox's place, but both would have trouble against the Shock's backcourt.

Detroit shooting guard Deanna Nolan has added a consistent three-pointer to her game while guard Katie Smith can swing to either position to cause problems with her scoring and defense.

"I'm going to always play," said Lennox, who averaged 10.9 points on 37.6 percent shooting from the field entering the game.

Ford starts for Detroit

For the second consecutive game Detroit forward Cheryl Ford participated in warmups while wearing a brace over her left knee as questions swirled about her playing availability. Coach Bill Laimbeer waited until after the WNBA regulated timeframe of 10 minutes before tipoff to make his decision to actually start Ford.

The league's leading rebounder (10.4), Ford missed her team's past two games because of injury. She played six minutes in the opening quarter against Seattle before needing work on the knee.

Taking off

The Storm departs today for a two-game trip against Minnesota and rival Los Angeles. The Storm is in the midst of playing five games in eight days to end the month of June.

Notes

• Storm forward Wendy Palmer recovered from flu-like symptoms to play on Wednesday. She missed practice on Tuesday because of the illness.

• NBA draft prospect Kevin Durant was in attendance, sitting courtside with his agent. The Sonics have the No. 2 pick in the draft next week and are projected to select Durant if Portland takes Ohio State center Greg Oden with the No. 1 overall pick.

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

Wednesday night's box

DETROIT
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Cash	22:34	4-6	1-2	0-4	4	3	9
Ford	23:11	4-7	2-2	0-7	2	0	10
Braxton	11:09	3-3	0-0	0-5	0	5	6
Nolan	30:36	8-13	0-0	1-2	5	4	18
Smith	35:20	9-14	2-3	0-4	5	1	23
Pierson	31:03	2-9	3-4	5-8	4	3	7
Powell	11:30	2-3	0-0	1-1	1	2	4
Johnson	17:07	2-6	0-0	0-0	1	2	5
Feenstra	10:10	2-5	1-1	1-4	0	2	5
Latta	5:02	0-3	0-0	0-0	0	2	0
Sanders	2:18	0-1	0-0	0-1	0	0	0
Totals		36-70	9-12	8-36	22	24	87

Percentages: FG .514, FT .750. Three-point goals: 6-15, .400 (Smith 3-6, Nolan 2-4, Johnson 1-2, Latta 0-3). Team rebounds: 6. Team Turnovers: 14 (9 PTS). Blocked shots: 5 (Cash, Nolan, Pierson, Feenstra, Latta). Turnovers: 14 (Pierson 4, Cash 2, Nolan 2, Smith 2, Braxton, Powell, Feenstra, Johnson). Steals: 9 (Ford 3, Nolan 2, Smith 2, Braxton, Pierson). Technical fouls: None.

SEATTLE
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Jackson	31:47	5-11	1-1	3-7	0	4	11
C. Marques	29:46	2-9	2-4	1-2	3	3	8
Burse	36:08	6-10	9-12	2-5	1	4	21
Lennox	25:15	3-10	3-4	0-4	4	2	9
Bird	35:08	2-7	3-4	0-1	3	1	8
Palmer-Daniel	13:36	1-4	2-2	0-2	0	2	4
Wright	8:00	1-2	2-2	0-0	1	1	4
Robinson	4:57	0-0	0-0	0-1	0	2	0
Gearlds	10:21	1-3	1-1	0-2	0	0	3
Ely	5:02	1-1	0-0	0-2	1	0	3
Totals		22-57	23-30	6-26	13	19	71

Percentages: FG .386, FT .767. Three-point goals: 4-16, .250 (Castro Marques 2-3, Ely 1-1, Bird 1-4, Palmer-Daniel 0-1, Lennox 0-2, Gearlds 0-2, Jackson 0-3). Team rebounds: 11. Team Turnovers: 18 (20 PTS). Blocked shots: 4 (Jackson 2, Bird, Burse). Turnovers: 18 (Burse 4, Bird 3, Lennox 3, Castro Marques 2, Jackson 2, Wright, Robinson, Ely, Gearlds). Steals: 7 (Castro Marques 2, Jackson 2, Bird, Gearlds, Palmer-Daniel). Technical Foul: Jackson, 6:40 third.

Detroit	25	19	25	18 — 87
Seattle	16	19	19	17 — 71

Attendance: 7,335 (9,686). Time: 1:56. Officials: June Courteau, Tom Mauer, Josh Tiven.