Lauren Jackson is back with the Seattle Storm. Also returning might be the Storm’s chances of repeating as WNBA champions.
Jackson returned after missing 20 games with a hip injury in Saturday’s 63-62 victory over the New York Liberty, She looked like she never missed a beat, scoring a season-high 20 points and grabbing seven rebounds in just under 22 minutes of play.
“She got a lot out of her minutes, didn’t she?” Storm coach Brian Agler said after Saturday’s victory.
Jackson was efficient, and her return allowed Agler to use his substitutes more, keeping everyone fresh. But there was no question, the Storm were at their best when Jackson was on the floor.
“She played well,” Agler said. “We’re a different team, obviously. You’ve got to give everybody credit for keeping us competitive without her. But we can be much better with her.”
The next team to get a look at how much better the Storm can be is the San Antonio Silver Stars. A victory tonight over San Antonio would give the Storm a 11/2 game lead for third place in the Western Conference over the Silver Stars. It would also clinch the season series over San Antonio, giving the Storm the all-important tiebreaker.
The Silver Stars are looking to avoid their fourth consecutive loss and seeing Jackson in a Storm uniform can’t be what they had hoped for. Jackson averaged 24.5 points and 10 rebounds per game as the Storm took all four meeting with San Antonio a year ago.
Storm make wish come true
The Storm and the Make-A-Wish Foundation will join together at tonight’s game for a Snohomish girl with a potentially life-threatening form of cancer.
The 15-year-old is an avid Storm fan and her favorite player is forward Camille Little. The Storm will host the girl at the morning shoot-around and at tonight’s game.
Aaron Lommers, Herald Writer
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