SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Seattle sprinted to a 12-point lead at the
start, and the Storm beat the Utah Starzz 73-65 Saturday night
behind 16 points by Katy Steding.
Seattle's other forward, Lauren Jackson, had 15 points,
including a 3-pointer to quell a late Starzz rally.
Seattle had a 14-2 lead four minutes into the game and led by as
many as 21 points in the first half.
Rookie Marie Ferdinand came off the bench to lead Utah with 17
points and seven rebounds, and helped spark the late rally by the
Starzz.
Down by 18 points with 6:53 left, the Starzz went on a 15-3 run
to make it 63-57 with 2:19 remaining. Utah was poised to get the
ball back and try to cut the lead even more, but Jackson's
3-pointer from the corner as the shot clock expired pushed the lead
back to nine points and sealed the victory for the Storm.
Utah had difficulty getting into its offense most of the
night in the face of full-court pressure by Seattle.
Utah's best player, Natalie Williams, struggled in the first
half, scoring just three points. That made it difficult for the
Starzz to work off the dribble or get any open looks from outside.
Williams finished with 10 points on 3-for-10 shooting but missed a
handful of layups.
Aside from Ferdinand, who also led the Starzz in rebounding,
Utah got little from its guards. Starters Jennifer Azzi and Korie
Hlede combined for 10 points on 2-for-10 shooting. Six of their 10
points came on free throws by Azzi.
Seattle's guards were far more effective. Semeka Randall scored
14 points and Sonja Henning had eight. Each had four assists.
Utah center Margo Dydek had 16 points, six rebounds and five blocked shots. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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