Swin Cash, Shannon Johnson lift sluggish Storm to win over San Antonio

Returning to KeyArena was supposed to give the Storm a lift. Instead, the afternoon matchup against San Antonio felt like a lazy Sunday afternoon and no one wanted to get out of bed.

Star forward Lauren Jackson was draped by San Antonio defenders most of the game and held scoreless in the opening half. It was the first time she has not scored in a half since the second half of a game against Los Angeles in May 2005.

But she peeked from beneath defenders to lay in a tough basket midway through the third period, leading the Storm on a run that turned into a 66-53 victory today.

The game had an early start as part of the WNBA's reach-out-to-kids program.

"We got a little bit of our swag back [in the third quarter]," said Storm forward Swin Cash, whose team lost its past two games by a combined 39 points on the road. "You could see it and feel it from each other — how we were talking and being aggressive."

Storm coach Brian Agler rotated his backcourt with 6:22 remaining in the third, moving Sue Bird to the shooting guard position and swapping Tanisha Wright with Shannon Johnson, who played point. Bird being a scoring threat along with Cash helped relieve some pressure inside.

Jackson's only points, a free throw and the tough lay in in the third quarter helped Seattle build a 38-35 lead, which the Storm expanded to 43-37 by getting to the free-throw line. Johnson was a catalyst, scoring six points in the quarter and running a tight offense.

"Shannon was great," said Jackson, who finished with just three points on 1-of-11 shooting from the field, but added 12 rebounds and four blocks. "I just had an off day. Maybe it was the 7:30 a.m. wake-up. I was definitely off the mark in the shooting area but fortunately when you've got a team that can step up around you and get wins it's huge."

It's not like Seattle (7-4) doesn't have experience playing without Jackson. She missed 13 games last season due to the Olympics and ankle surgery and the Storm was 8-5 without her.

But then, it was mainly Bird and forward Camille Little giving Seattle a boost. On Tuesday, Cash and Johnson joined that group.

Cash, who said she's feeling faster after having back surgery in March, paced the Storm with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Little chipped in 12 points and five boards to help Seattle outrebound San Antonio 41-17.

The Silver Stars (4-5) were held to 29.8 percent shooting and were limited to six offensive rebounds.

"If you hold Lauren to three points, you'd think you're going to win the game," said San Antonio guard Becky Hammon, who led her team with 13 points and five assists. "We didn't rebound or shoot well enough to win that game."

Walker out

Storm rookie Ashley Walker stubbed her right big toe at practice Sunday and despite rejoining practice on Monday, couldn't suit up for the game. The forward had her toe evaluated after the game and will know by Wednesday how long she has to wear a boot to keep pressure off the foot.

Walker, selected 12th overall in the draft from California, is averaging 4.4 minutes.

"I took a wrong step and stubbed my toe," Walker said. "It kills. It's really sensitive to the touch."

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