• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Storm-Sun Preview

Aug 12, 2009 - 8:19 PM By ALAN FERGUSON STATS Writer

Seattle (13-9) at Connecticut (11-10), 7:00 p.m. EDT

Following a dismal stretch of road games, the Connecticut Sun got a much-needed victory and jumped back into second place in the Eastern Conference.

They will try to stay there by extending their dominance over the visiting Seattle Storm on Thursday night.

Connecticut (11-10) lost three times on its just-completed season-high stretch of four road contests. The Sun dropped four of five overall to fall from second to fourth in the East.

They rebounded Sunday with a 96-67 home win over Washington as each Connecticut starter scored in double figures, led by Lindsay Whalen with 16 points. That moved the Sun back in front of the Mystics and Atlanta and within 5 1/2 games of first-place Indiana.

Asjha Jones scored 14 points to set a franchise record with her 18th straight game in double figures. She leads the team with 16.9 points a contest.

"It was good to beat a team we needed to beat - ahead of us in the standings," coach Mike Thibault said. "It was good to see all five starters in double figures. It was almost like the perfect box score, offensively."

Connecticut has a perfect record against the Storm over the past three seasons, winning all six matchups. The Sun have also taken five straight at home in the series since July 17, 2003.

Connecticut, however, hasn't earned back-to-back wins since a season-high four straight victories from July 14-22.

The Sun will face a Storm team that is also trying to get back in a groove as it opens a three-game road trip. Seattle (13-9) dropped three of four - two in a row in overtime - before holding on for a 70-69 win over New York on Saturday night.

The Storm trailed by one with 4:03 remaining until Sue Bird scored four straight points to give her team the lead for good. Seattle moved within 2 1/2 games of West-leading Phoenix and two up on third-place Minnesota.

In her return to Connecticut, Bird will try to help her team win consecutive contests for the first time since a three-game run from July 17-22.

The Seattle guard, who won two national titles and was the collegiate player of the year during her four years at UConn, scored 24 points in last season's 80-76 loss at Mohegan Sun Arena. She had averaged 7.5 points on 27.9 percent shooting in her four previous games there.

Fellow All-Star Lauren Jackson missed that defeat following ankle surgery. The league's third-leading scorer at 19.3 points per game, she scored 26 points in last season's 74-67 home defeat to the Sun and averaged 21.2 points and 9.0 rebounds in the last five meetings.

The Sun have won seven of nine at home after opening with two losses there this season, while Seattle has dropped four of five on the road after a 3-2 start.