August 11, 2002

The Storm has clinched their first Playoff in the franchise history.

With two #1 draft picks and some trades, Seattle has finally found a way to be in the playoffs. Sue Bird came out big at the game against Portland, but she was scoreless tonight. Utah tried to shut her down completely by putting Jennifer Azzi to guard every move she made. They certainly did a great job on that, but Seattle Storm is not a one-man team. Lauren Jackson, the leading scorer and the rest of the team members stepped up and took over the ball game.

Four Seattle players scored double digits tonight. Kamila Vodichkova who struggled the previous night, got her shooting ability back. She and Adia Barnes scored 11 points. Amanda Lassiter also stepped up tonight with 14 points, 5 assists and 4 steals. Finally, Lauren Jackson who led the team with 27 points, 8 blocks and 7 rebounds once again showed how good she is.

It is amazing to see a young team that at one point was 4.5 games behind Portland Fire, lost heartbreaking games back to back against Houston were able to pick themselves up, kept their composure and made a 9-0 deal with their head coach to end the season. They lost one against Minnesota, which made their game against Portland a must win game, but they took it as a challenge and they were able to answer it with a win to take them half a game ahead. It was such a huge win for the Storm to stay alive, and they realized that it was not the end of it. They had the ultimate mission to clinch the playoff berth, and they showed no excessive triumphant celebration after the win.

The game against Utah was not a must win game, but they did not want to make their last game at Sacramento as the "must win" game or having to rely on Portland lost against Phoenix. They came out big as a team! It might have been a roller-coaster ride for Seattle Storm and its fans, but now we can laugh out loud and celebrate!

The Storm will face Sacramento Monarchs on Tuesday to close out their successful season. They will more likely to face LA Sparks in the playoff.

GO STORM!!! GOOD LUCK IN THE PLAYOFF GAMES!!!