Castro Marques leads Storm to victory

Green flags waved in the KeyArena air.

Yet, instead of chanting, "Oi! Oi! Oi!" in honor of Australian forward Lauren Jackson with her country's flag, the sounds of "Ole!" vibrated through the crowd as Brazilian Iziane Castro Marques lit up visiting New York to help the Storm win 84-53 Sunday.

Castro Marques finished with a game-high 24 points, making 4 of 6 three-point attempts.

"It's just the way we play them," said Castro Marques, who typically has good games against New York, setting her career-high (26) against the Liberty last season. "We play a fast game all the time and have a lot of fast breaks. That helps me because that's what my game is about."

The Brazilian has been quiet offensively lately, however, even though her role on the team is to defend and pick up offense through steals. Castro Marques was 9 for 39 (23.0 percent) from the field in her past five games entering Sunday's matchup.

She said she knew from the moment she made a three-pointer off an assist by guard Betty Lennox with 4:41 remaining in the opening quarter that it was going to be a smooth night.

"We do the same thing every day and then we get to the game and it doesn't work out like you want to, so you get a little frustrated," said Castro Marques of her previous mind-set. "But things were going to come around. I just felt good out there, I was like, 'Yeah, this is the day.' And when I'm hot, I'm going to go get it."

Jackson was fine letting Castro Marques carry the team, joining Lennox under the hoop for rebounds. The Australian finished with 11 rebounds to offset a struggling game offensively with 12 points on 4-for-12 shooting. Lennox had 10 rebounds and six assists to go with nine points.

The Storm (8-7) used a 19-4 run ignited by Jackson in the final 6:08 of the second quarter to take a 45-28 lead into halftime. It was a dramatic turnaround from the paltry showing Seattle had in a five-point loss in Houston, where Jackson (25) and Lennox (23) were the only players to score in double figures.

"I was calling her my little Brazilian lightning," said the 6-foot-5 Jackson, who is 5 inches taller than Castro Marques. "Izi was great. If we play like that, as a team, no one can stop us. I can have an off night, Betty can have an off night, but if everyone scrapes together like that we're pretty much unstoppable."

After Tuesday's home game against Los Angeles, Seattle will play seven of its upcoming eight games on the road. The All-Star break is also mixed in the long stretch away from KeyArena.

But Castro Marques may not be with the team for part of its trip after the July 15 All-Star Game. She's a member of the Brazilian national team, which will compete in the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro from July 20-24. Because longtime Olympian Janeth Arcain and the national team coach are retiring after the Games, Castro Marques' federation wants her to be present for at least the finals July 24.

If Seattle is without Castro Marques, newcomers Shyra Ely and Katie Gearlds could replace her in the lineup.

Against the Liberty (8-8), the bench combined for 22 points and 14 boards.

"We competed for the first 12 minutes of the first half, then we started missing shots and everything broke down," New York coach Pat Coyle said. "We're still in the thick of things in the East. We've gotta bounce back."

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