Storm 73, Mercury 58
SEATTLE (AP) The Seattle Storm's third straight comeback victory had a bit more meaning.
Lauren Jackson scored 25 points and the Storm wrapped up second place in the WNBA's Western Conference with a 73-58 win over the Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday night.
The victory gave home-court advantage to Seattle in the first round of the playoffs. Playing at home is a major plus for the Storm, who are 13-2 at KeyArena this season. Seattle is just 7-10 on the road.
It's huge for Seattle, said Jackson, last season's league MVP. The beginning of the season, I didn't even think we would make the playoffs.
Phoenix absorbed its third straight loss despite 20 points from rookie standout Diana Taurasi. The Mercury are a half-game ahead of Sacramento in the race for the final playoff spot in the West. Phoenix has two game remaining. The Monarchs have three.
Now it's about just making the playoffs, Phoenix head coach Carrie Graf said. We're in must-win situations now with our next two games.
It was the third straight victory in which Seattle overcame a double-figures deficit to win.
Right now, I wouldn't want to be cakewalking through games, and then get to the playoffs and not have this kind of experience, Storm head coach Anne Donovan said.
The Storm used a dominant second half, highlighted by a 25-7 run, to turn a close game into a blowout. A 3-pointer by Tully Bevilaqua tied the score at 40 and a jumper from Betty Lennox with 12:08 left gave Seattle a 42-40 lead it wouldn't relinquish.
The first half was a different story for Seattle, falling behind by 13 and at one point having more turnovers (13) than points (12). But a 15-5 run to close the half pulled Seattle within 30-27.
We didn't get a chance to shoot the ball, we were turning it over so much, Donovan said. And I didn't expect for the first 20 minutes we were going to come out that way.
Lennox was the only other Seattle player in double figures with 10 points, but nine Storm player scored.
Taurasi shot 9-for-20 for the Mercury, but was hassled throughout the game by a rotating Seattle defense. Nikki McCray added 10 points in a reserve role bench for Phoenix
They came out in the second half, punched us in the face and we just backed down, Taurasi said.