Storm dries up in San Antonio with 74-69 loss

SAN ANTONIO — After letting loose a sigh, Storm guard Sue Bird shook her head and whispered, "That's messed up."

The phrase followed another missed Seattle free throw in the second half against San Antonio. But it could have easily captured the team's entire feeling about a 74-69 loss before 6,478 fans at the AT&T Center on Friday.

Instead, the Storm repeatedly said they "let this one slip away."

True. Seattle led by 10 at halftime and was within three points with 15.9 seconds remaining in the game. Yet, the Storm missed four free throws and was 4 of 14 from the field in the fourth quarter as the Silver Stars fought their way to the win, remaining perfect at home at 5-0.

"That's definitely the theme," said forward Sheryl Swoopes of the team letting this game get away. "I thought overall that we played really well. But San Antonio is a very good team, especially at home. No lead is really a safe lead, and we felt like we had the game won being up by 10 at the half.

"We talked about how important the first five minutes of the third quarter would be," Swoopes said. "But I really felt like we just kind of handed it to them, like, 'Here you go, you guys want it more than we do. You can have it.' "

Storm forward Lauren Jackson appeared to be one of the few fighting the Silver Stars' push. She yelled for the ball and drove baseline for a layin, drawing a foul, at the 48.6 mark.

Yet, even with the three-point play getting the Storm close at 69-68, Seattle couldn't pick up momentum to stop San Antonio defensively and convert offensively. Bird missed a free throw and Jackson and Swoopes missed three-pointers.

Meanwhile on defense, All-Star Sophia Young, returning from a groin injury, grabbed rebounds and made a free throw to protect the Silver Stars' lead.

"We didn't really follow through when we had the opportunity, we didn't make the most of it," said Jackson, who finished with 18 points and eight rebounds. "I wanted the ball in my hands. I feel like I can make more happen when I have it in my hands. It was too little too late."

Jackson only attempted four shots in the fourth quarter. Bird, who was 6 of 9 in the opening half for 17 of her game-leading 21 points, missed all three of her attempts in the final quarter against Helen Darling's defense.

"I just tried to frustrate her," Darling said. "I didn't want it to be easy for her to score or set good defense. My main objective was to harass her and frustrate her game."

It worked as Bird was 1 of 6 in the second half overall while San Antonio improved to 50 percent shooting after a 12 of 34 showing in the opening half.

"It's disappointing," Bird said of the loss, which drops her team to 1-4 on the road. "We've only won one game on the road so far this season, and this one was against a team we only get to play three times. There's a lot of reasons this one hurt, especially because we were in control in the first half."

Seattle (7-4) dropped its first series of the season, 2-1 to San Antonio. The failure to collect the road win, the Storm's fourth consecutive loss at the Silver Stars' arena, could play a part in playoff seeding later — should both teams advance. San Antonio (5-4) owns the head-to-head matchup.

The Silver Stars took their first lead since 5-3 in the opening quarter off a jumper by veteran Vickie Johnson with 1:29 remaining in the game. A steal from Becky Hammon on a Bird drive to the hoop with 1:17 remaining, which Hammon later converted into a layin, gave San Antonio a 69-65 advantage.

That's when Jackson tried to take over, but it was, as she said, too late.

"Vickie Johnson was key for us," San Antonio coach Dan Hughes said. "We got the ball in VJ's hands late, and she got into situations and converted or got to the foul line. It was a quality win. Seattle is a heck of a basketball team, and we're very fortunate to make the last run."

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