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Storm-Sparks Preview

Sep 15, 2009 - 9:39 PM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

Seattle (20-14) at Los Angeles (18-16), 10:00 p.m. EDT

The Seattle Storm have seen their last four seasons end in the first round of the playoffs. Two of those exits have come at the hands of the Los Angeles Sparks.

This time around, the Storm will be looking to overcome a rash of injuries when they visit the Sparks on Wednesday night to open a best-of-three series.

Seattle (20-14) finished second in the Western Conference to earn a first-round series against third-seeded Los Angeles (18-16). It's the third time in four years the rivals will meet in the opening round, with the Sparks taking the previous two in three games in 2006 and '08. The Storm also fell to Los Angeles in the first round in 2002.

The last two playoff exits to the Sparks have come during a four-year stretch that has seen the Storm fail to advance out of the first round after winning the WNBA title in 2004.

Seattle also enters this series with three players injured.

Guard Sue Bird (neck), forward Lauren Jackson (back stress fracture) and reserve guard-forward Katie Gearlds (knee) didn't play in Saturday's season-ending 64-55 win at San Antonio. Bird was the only of the three to travel, while forward Swin Cash also stayed home for personal reasons.

"We just tried to get the win, which was the most important thing and trying to get that 20th win for our season," guard Shannon Johnson said after scoring a season-high 16 in her sixth start. "It was about giving other players an opportunity to play basketball."

Seattle is hoping to have at least Bird and Cash back Wednesday, giving the team two of its top players.

Bird led the league with 5.8 assists per game and is second on the Storm with 12.8 points, while Cash averages a team-high 6.7 rebounds and adds 12.2 points a contest.

The Storm split four season meetings with the Sparks with the home team winning each time. Seattle has dropped its last five visits to Staples Center, including a matchup in last year's playoff series.

The Sparks are looking to reach the West finals for the third time in four years. They closed the regular season with three consecutive victories, winning 81-78 at conference-champion Phoenix on Sunday.

"It's nice to go into the playoffs on a winning note," coach Michael Cooper said.

Lisa Leslie, the team leader with 15.4 points per game, will try to help Los Angeles get past Seattle again before retiring.

The veteran center has only faced Seattle once this year, shooting 7 for 14 and scoring 15 in a 79-75 win Aug. 6. She averaged 12.0 points and 9.7 rebounds against the Storm in the playoffs last year.

The winner of this series will face the Mercury or Silver Stars in the conference finals.