PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Lauren Jackson had 18 points and 12 rebounds and Jamie Redd added 18 points as the Seattle Storm beat the Portland Fire 61-56 Wednesday night.
Redd scored 15 points over the final 9:16 as the Storm held on, and Jackson had her second consecutive double-double after notching the WNBA franchise's first ever in a four-overtime loss to Washington on Tuesday.
"We didn't shoot around today -- we needed to sleep more than we
needed to shoot," Seattle coach Lin Dunn said. "We learned a lot
and we grew from (Tuesday's loss), and we just wanted it to carry over tonight ... I knew we would get a great effort."
Jackie Stiles had 18 points and Sophia Witherspoon scored 11 for
the Fire, who shot only 32 percent from the field.
Portland led 47-40 after Witherspoon and Tamicha Jackson each
made two free throws, but the Fire then went cold.
"They played with a lot more heart and grit and determination
in the last five minutes than we did," Portland coach Linda Hargrove said. "We waited until maybe the last minute or two, and we ran out of clock."
Redd hit a layup with 4:16 left, then made another 17 seconds
later as the Storm went on an 11-0 run.
Lauren Jackson had two free throws that tied the game at 47 with
7:39 left, then hit one of two 13 seconds later to give the Storm
the lead for good.
"Finally, a win," Jackson said. "That loss was awful, but it was definitely a learning experience. We came back a better team."
Stiles made a layup from the ground and was fouled and her
three-point play with 40 seconds left cut Seattle's lead to 56-52.
But Charmin Smith hit one free throw and Redd had three more to
seal the win.
"We could have come in and beat ourselves," Redd said. "We
have to get it done no matter how tough it is."
Kristin Folkl had nine points and eight rebounds in the first half for the Fire, who led 19-11 before Seattle went on a 9-2 run to tie the game at 21.
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ALSO SEE
WNBA Scoreboard
Seattle team page
Portland team page
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