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Monarchs-Storm Preview

Jul 8, 2009 - 6:31 PM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

Sacramento (3-8) at Seattle (7-4), 9:00 p.m. EDT

It's been over a year since the Seattle Storm lost at KeyArena.

They'll attempt to extend their franchise-record home winning streak to 15 games Thursday night when they face the last-place Sacramento Monarchs.

The Storm (7-4) opened a four-game homestand with a 66-53 win over San Antonio on Tuesday, their 14th consecutive victory in Seattle since falling 74-67 to Connecticut on June 16, 2008.

Their streak, during which they've outscored opponents by 12.8 points per game, is the longest in the WNBA since now-defunct Cleveland won 16 in a row bridging the 2000 and '01 seasons. Seattle is still a long way from the league record of 28 consecutive home wins set by Los Angeles from July 4, 2000-June 27, 2002.

The Storm have a strong chance to extend their run as they face Sacramento (3-8) before Sunday's visit from Chicago. They'll conclude the homestand against last-place Detroit on Wednesday, and those three opponents are a combined 2-15 on the road.

Seattle has also beaten the Monarchs twice in 2009, winning 80-70 at home June 7 a day after a 71-61 season-opening victory at Sacramento.

Lauren Jackson, among the league leaders with 20.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game, scored 48 points in those wins.

The veteran forward-center, though, is looking to rebound from a rough performance against the Silver Stars, scoring a season-low three points on 1-for-11 shooting. Jackson did pull down a season-high 12 rebounds and blocked four shots as Seattle outrebounded San Antonio 41-17.

"She had a tough night, she missed some shots. They were really congesting her," Storm coach Brian Agler said. "I told Lauren at halftime, 'Look, you are going to have to find your own way.' We can't just constantly force the ball to you, because then we get out of what we want to do offensively.

"We've got to be more balanced as an offensive team. She's a team player. She totally understood and she really made our offense run."

The Monarchs, 1-6 on the road, are looking to win three straight after opening the season with eight losses in nine games.

They defeated Chicago 83-73 on Tuesday, five days after a 74-68 victory at Minnesota ended a six-game losing streak.

"No one panicked when we were losing, we know each other and know what we are capable of doing," forward Rebekkah Brunson said after getting 10 points and 10 rebounds against the Sky. "We still have the same core group of players and we know what works for us."

Forward Nicole Powell leads Sacramento with 15.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, but has been inconsistent in the two meetings with Seattle. She had 14 points and seven rebounds in the last matchup after getting eight points on 3-for-14 shooting with four boards in the season opener.