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Storm defeat Lynx in WNBA action

Sue Bird tied a season high with 20 points to lead the Seattle Storm over the Minnesota Lynx 72-66 Friday night. Lauren Jackson had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Janell Burse added 10 points for Seattle (16-12), which won for just the second time in nine road games. The Storm stretched their lead to one game over the Houston Comets for second place in the Western Conference. Seattle visits Houston on Sunday. Chandi Jones scored a career-high 16 points and Vanessa Hayden added 14 points and 11 rebounds for Minnesota (13-16), which was playing its fourth game in six nights. The Lynx dropped into a tie with Los Angeles for fifth place in the West.

Seattle seemingly put the game away with a 15-2 run midway through the second half to increase its lead to 60-49. Minnesota shot just 7-for-24 in the first 12:24 of the second half before rallying to make things close. It finished shooting 36.6 percent from the floor, compared to 49.1 percent for the Storm. Nicole Ohlde scored five points in Minnesota",s 7-0 run that cut its deficit to 68-64 with 2:07 remaining. Jackson made two free throws to push Seattle`s lead to six with 1:43 left, and Jones hit a jumper 17 seconds later to bring it back down to four. Bird and Stacey Lovelace missed jumpers in the final minute, before Bird made a pair free throws with 20.6 seconds left to seal the win.

Despite the win, Jackson, who recorded her ninth double-double of the season, didn`t think the Storm played like it can.

"We just didn`t play our normal game," she said. "That`s why we haven`t been winning on the road - we don`t play with as much energy and heart as we do at home. Tonight we were lucky, just plain lucky, to come away with a win."