Top > Sport > 2004 > September > 2004-09-28

Storm move on: Seattle ousts Lynx to reach Western finals

Then pencil the Seattle Storm into the WNBA Western Conference finals.

Decked by a collision with Minnesota`s Teresa Edwards just two minutes, 23 seconds into the game, Bird spent most of Monday night trying to stop the bleeding, watching on a trainer`s room TV as the Storm and Lynx banged it out in Game 2 of the Western semis.

She saw Tully Bevilaqua take charge at the point. She saw the reserves contribute nearly half of the offense. And, when Bird finally returned to the KeyArena sidelines for the final few minutes, she saw the Storm put the finishing touches on a 64-54 victory to complete a two-game sweep of third-seeded Minnesota.

``That second half was awesome. I was so proud of them,`` said Bird, who will visit the doctor today to have the nose set in hopes of returning for Friday`s start of the conference finals. ``Winning in two is huge. It says so much about this team to be able to do that. ... It shows a lot of character.``

Bird said she knew as soon as she rammed into Edwards near the top of the key at Seattle`s end that the nose was broken.

``That`s why I ran off (the court). I needed to get out of there,`` she said.

Edwards said, ``We didn`t see each other. I just turned to go, and she was cutting through (the key). I didn`t know we hit that hard, but I know she hit my jawbone.``

Much of the character Bird spoke about came from the substitutes, who for a good part of the season have been inconsistent. But they contributed plenty on Monday in front of 7,261 fans: 27 points (on 54-percent shooting), 11 rebounds, eight assists and eight steals.

``Talk about guts -- I don`t think it gets any gutsier than that,`` Storm coach Anne Donovan said. ``Tully usually can`t go long stretches of time (she played a season-high 27 minutes in Bird`s absence) because she plays so hard, she has to go in and out. Everyone on our bench contributed.``

Bird is officially listed as day-to-day. But with four days to heal, it`s hard to imagine her not being in uniform by Friday when the Storm tip off the Western finals against either Los Angeles or Sacramento, who play Game 3 of their series tonight at L.A.

If it`s the Sparks, the Storm will host Game 1 on Friday at the University of Washington`s Hec Edmundson Pavilion because the Key is booked. If it`s the Monarchs, Seattle travels to Sacramento on Friday, then gets Game 2 on Sunday and Game 3, if needed, next Tuesday.

Either way, the Storm has its first playoff series victory in the book. It was secured with a 14-3 scoring run that began with Seattle down 48-45 midway through the second half.

By the time reserve center Janell Burse laid in an easy one off a pass from Sheri Sam with 2:51 left, the lead was 59-49, and the Lynx were done.

``I think (the Storm) just outplayed us in the last five minutes,`` said Svetlana Abrosimova, whose sharp shooting early in the second half helped boost Minnesota from five points behind to three points ahead. ``We stayed with them the whole game. But at the end, they just took it from us.``

While Lauren Jackson led Seattle`s scorers with 18 points, Alicia Thompson pumped in 10 during 13 minutes of reserve play, and Bevilaqua finished with nine. One of Thompson`s baskets was a trey from the left corner with 5:45 left that seemed to vacuum up whatever life was left in the Lynx.

``We pretty much have to do it in crunch time,`` Thompson said. ``I was ready to shoot it. I was just trying to contribute and put it in.``

* Storm rumblings: The Storm will host a viewing party at Jillian`s near Lake Union for tonight`s deciding game between L.A. and Sacramento. It will begin at 6:30.

Mark Moschetti can be reached at mark.moschetti@kcjn.com.