Storm holds on at home to defeat New York Liberty

Storm forward Lauren Jackson had one wish.

"That we'd bloody win," she said after the team's overtime loss in Los Angeles on Thursday.

Seattle did and didn't need overtime in defeating the New York Liberty 70-69 at KeyArena on Saturday night. But that doesn't mean it wasn't interesting.

Leading 59-49 early in the fourth quarter, Seattle seemingly froze at the thought of actually winning without extra play or dramatics. So it manufactured its own with sloppy defense and missed shots to allow a 16-5 run that pulled the Liberty ahead 65-64 after a short jumper by Janelle McCarville.

The game seesawed until two made free throws by Storm All-Star Sue Bird put her team back ahead 70-69 with 3:11 remaining. She had a team-leading nine points in the fourth quarter.

All-Star Swin Cash covered Cathrine Kraayeveld and Jackson worked on McCarville in an effort to limit the Liberty from stealing the win. New York guard Essence Carson missed a desperate attempt at the final buzzer.

"It felt intense," said Cash, who finished with 11 points. "There were even a couple of missed assignments where we were like, 'We can't go into overtime and we can't have mental lapses.' "

The defeat was New York's sixth in its past seven games, souring coach Anne Donovan's return to Seattle. The Storm halted a two-game losing slide.

"It's just a relief that we won and we didn't go into overtime," said Jackson, who had 21 points and nine rebounds. "Now the next part is to not let people come back like that. It's going to be amazing."

Four of the Storm's past five games have been overtime matchups, one decided in triple overtime. Storm coach Brian Agler said a lack of defensive focus late led to the Liberty being able to work its way back into the game.

"We're all human beings, and human beings make mistakes," said Agler, whose team forced New York into missing six shots and committing two turnovers in the final 3:27. "We'll take it how we can get it."

The Storm retains second place in the Western Conference, which would give it home-court advantage in the opening round of the playoffs. Seattle also received a little help when Indiana defeated West-leading Phoenix 90-83.

The Mercury has a three-game lead over the Storm.

"It was tough, but I'm just glad we won," Bird said

Donovan returns

Donovan returned to Seattle for the first time as a head coach with New York. It was her first since leaving the organization in 2007.

Donovan received a warm ovation when introduced before the game. She was named interim coach July 31 after the Liberty fired Pat Coyle. Coyle is a close friend of Donovan's.

"It was very difficult to watch the change, watch Patty be the fall person for our demise," said Donovan, who was an assistant for three months. "And it was a difficult decision to step in."

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

Saturday's box

NEW YORK		fg	ft
min		m-a	m-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Christon	31:05	3-11	2-2	1-9	2	4	9
TJackson	14:47	0-2	1-2	1-2	0	1	1
McCarville	28:53	9-17	4-5	4-6	2	2	22
Moore	33:24	0-3	1-2	1-7	5	4	1
Carson	31:21	5-13	1-2	1-4	1	3	13
Kraayeveld	24:19	6-7	0-0	1-2	0	1	16
Battle	6:46	0-0	0-0	0-0	2	0	0
Vaughn	7:10	2-2	0-0	0-1	0	0	4
Mitchell	6:36	0-2	0-0	0-0	5	2	0
Spencer	10:48	1-3	0-0	0-0	0	1	3
Larkins	4:51	0-0	0-0	1-1	2	0	0
Totals		26-60	9-13	10-32	19	18	69

Percentages: FG .433, FT .692. Three-point goals: 8-21, .381 (Kraayeveld 4-4, Carson 2-5, Spencer 1-3, Christon 1-5, Mitchell 0-1, Moore 0-3). Team rebounds: 5. Team Turnovers: 13 (14 PTS). Blocked shots: 3 (Christon 2, McCarville). Turnovers: 13 (T.Jackson 3, Moore 3, Carson 2, Vaughn 2, Battle, Larkins, McCarville). Steals: 7 (Carson 3, Kraayeveld, McCarville, Moore, Spencer). Technical fouls: None.

SEATTLE		fg	ft
min		m-a	m-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Cash	36:50	5-12	1-3	2-5	3	0	11
LJackson	36:14	6-15	7-8	1-9	2	2	21
Little	23:03	3-3	0-0	0-0	0	4	6
Bird	37:26	4-9	3-3	0-3	6	2	12
Wright	34:43	3-8	0-0	0-4	4	4	6
Johnson	11:01	1-2	0-0	0-3	3	0	2
Burse	14:24	5-6	0-0	0-1	1	1	10
Robinson	3:03	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	1	0
Batkovic	3:16	1-2	0-0	0-2	1	0	2
Totals		28-57	11-14	3-27	20	14	70

Percentages: FG .491, FT .786. Three-point goals: 3-10, .300 (L.Jackson 2-4, Bird 1-3, Batkovic 0-1, Johnson 0-1, Wright 0-1). Team rebounds: 6. Team Turnovers: 12 (8 PTS). Blocked shots: 7 (Burse 4, Batkovic, Cash, L.Jackson). Turnovers: 12 (Cash 3, Bird 2, Burse 2, L.Jackson 2, Wright 2, Johnson). Steals: 7 (Bird 2, L.Jackson 2, Cash, Little, Wright). Technical fouls: None.

New York	14	16	19	20 — 69
Seattle	24	13	18	15 — 70

Attendance: 7,496 (17,098). Time: 1:51. Officials: Michael Price, Clarke Stevens, Shelley Nakasone.