It’s beginning to look more and more like the No.2 seed in the Western Conference playoffs will be decided on Sept. 9 at KeyArena when the Phoenix Mercury take on the Storm.
The Storm earned a 70-60 victory over the San Antonio Silver Stars on Saturday. With a record of 19-13, the Storm are clinging to a half game lead over the Mercury (18-13), who defeated the Los Angeles Sparks 93-77 also on Saturday.
Storm head coach said the return of Lauren Jackson is making a difference.
“Well, Lauren isn’t 100 percent, but having her back makes a difference,” Agler said. “It gives us an inside presence and she effects the game at both ends of the floor. We are starting to play better together. I like the way we’re moving. I don’t know if we’ve quite hit (our stride) yet, but I like the way we are playing right now.”
Agler should also like the way Swin Cash played on Saturday. Cash has struggled offensively of late, but recorded a double double, scoring 14 points and grabbing 12 rebounds against San Antonio. In the process, Cash scored her 4,000 point of her career.
“It’s pretty cool,” Cash said. “You play this game for a long time and get different milestones in your career. It’s just an honor and a blessing to be doing what I love.”
Point guard Sue Bird led the Storm with 15 points. Jackson chipped in 13.
The victory gives the Storm wins on two consecutive nights, both coming on the road. Bird says it is a good time to get it going.
“It would be a good time to do that,” Bird said. “The WNBA is a short season, but it can be long in terms of the ups and downs over the year. For us, we’ve definitely dealth with our ups and downs and I hope we’re getting on an up-swing.”
Sophia Young led the Silver Stars (15-16) with 22 points.
In the Mercury’s victory over the Sparks, Diana Taurasi led Phoenix with 24 points. Candace Parker scored 32 points for Los Angeles (13-18), to lead all scores.
The Silver Stars lead the Sparks by two games for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The two teams face each other on Tuesday night.
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