Storm pulls out unlikely road victory

MINNEAPOLIS -- Looking at the statistics, not to mention the missing person's report, you might think the Storm lost to the Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday at Target Center.

The Storm reserves were outscored 40-6 by Minnesota's benchwarmers and the starting lineup was 2 1/2 players short because Lauren Jackson is off with the Australian Olympic team, Yolanda Griffith was out because of a migraine headache, and Sheryl Swoopes suffered a hamstring injury in the first half.

And yet the Storm came away with a 76-73 victory that was not only surprising, but historic as well, according to Sue Bird. The victory pulled the Storm into a first-place tie with San Antonio in the Western Conference.

"This is one of the best wins in our franchise history, no doubt," said Bird, who had a game-high 22 points. "To be out three starters, come in after losing by 30 to Washington (on Sunday), to take on a Minnesota team that is very good, on its home court, and win? I speak for everybody when I say we have never been happier."

Mixed in with the happiness was a good measure of relief. The Storm (16-8) led by 17 points late in the third quarter but had to weather a strong finish by Minnesota (11-12).

Back-to-back baskets by Vanessa Hayden-Johns cut the Storm lead to one with 1:24 remaining, but Minnesota mustered only two shots after that.

The Storm's Camille Little made two free throws with 7.5 seconds to go, and Minnesota's Candice Wiggins misfired on a 3-pointer at the horn.

Griffith was feeling the effects of a collision with Washington's Alana Beard on Sunday. Then came word at halftime that Swoopes also was on the shelf; her status was uncertain after the game.

"I think this is a great experience for everybody on the team," Bird said. "We knew at the start of the season that we wouldn't have Lauren for these games. We knew last night that we wouldn't have Yolanda for this game, and we found out at halftime that Sheryl wouldn't be able to play the rest of the game. It definitely caught us by surprise, but it gave us an opportunity to allow people to step up, play big minutes and contribute.

"It's one of those things that's a confidence-builder. When we do get those three players back in the lineup, it just makes it better for everybody. Now everybody is confident when they step on the floor."

Little and Swin Cash each scored 17 points for the Storm, and Tanisha Wright had 12. The only points off the bench were six by Shyra Ely. Among the Minnesota bench's 40 points were 16 by Charde Houston and 14 by Wiggins.

Seimone Augustus, Minnesota's scoring leader, had two points at halftime and finished with 10 on 3-for-16 shooting. Augustus scored a season-high 30 when the Lynx beat San Antonio on Saturday.

The Storm has won eight of nine, and two games remain before the WNBA shuts down for a month because of the Olympics.

"Everybody needs wins," said Storm coach Brian Agler, who was head coach and general manager of the Lynx from 1999-2002. "We feel like you need to get to 18 or 19 wins to make the playoffs and right now we're sitting at 16. We have a share of first place right now and we need to stay ahead. Having home-court advantage is huge in the playoffs, especially in the WNBA."

Bird made 7 of 15 field-goal attempts, including 3 of 4 on 3-pointers. All three of her threes came in the first half as she led the Storm out of an early hole. The Lynx led by six before a 14-0 run put the Storm ahead to stay. Bird scored eight of those 14 points.

"I really believe Sue is the best point guard in the world, and I think she showed today why she is," Agler said. "She didn't have the supporting cast around her, and she rose up and made huge plays."

Sunday's loss at Washington put an end to the Storm's seven-game winning streak, the longest in team history.

And with Jackson absent, Griffith hurt, Swoopes going down and Minnesota looking strong down the stretch, a losing streak seemed like a strong possibility.

But the numbers don't lie.

"It's a huge win for us," Cash said. "I'm just really proud of my teammates. Everyone came in and played significant minutes and contributed to this win.

"We had everything going against us and we came out on top."