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Jackson leads Storm past Silver Stars

May 30, 2010 - 10:21 PM SAN ANTONIO(AP) -- Lauren Jackson scored 19 of her season-high 27 points in the first half, and the West-leading Seattle Storm routed the San Antonio Silver Stars 84-56 on Sunday.

Leading by 22 at halftime, the Storm (5-1) scored the first 13 points in the third period, leading San Antonio to clear its bench six minutes into the second half.

"Usually you see a response from the other team, and we just talked at halftime about how (San Antonio) is capable of scoring 50, 60 in a half if they get on a roll," Seattle coach Brian Agler said. "We didn't want them to do that.

"I was more impressed with the zero - them not scoring - than I was with us scoring 13."

San Antonio was 1 of 12 from the field in the third quarter with five turnovers.

"I thought, 'Here's a time when we need some energy players,"' Silver Stars coach Sandy Brondello said. "They fought hard, but we were just outplayed in every aspect of the game."

Roneeka Hodges came off the bench to score 12 points for the Silver Stars (2-3), who lost for the second straight game at home without ever leading. San Antonio's reserves outscored its starters 30-24.

Seattle outscored the Silver Stars 42-18 in the paint and limited San Antonio, which entered the game with the league's top field-goal percentage, to 32.7-percent shooting.

Swin Cash scored seven of her 14 points in the first quarter for the Storm, who bounced back from a loss Thursday in Chicago.

"This is much better, but I'm still not satisfied," said Cash, who was 6 of 12 from the field and grabbed eight rebounds. "I still think we can go up another notch."

The Storm hit their first four shots and used three offensive rebounds to convert on their fifth possession en route to a quick 11-4 lead. A three-point play by Jackson with 1:44 left in the quarter put Seattle up by 12.

"We didn't really look at the score," said Jackson, who was 9 of 15 from the field and 8 of 8 from the foul line. "It was more about just continuing the pressure and playing defense and making sure that we didn't let up at all."

Seattle's lead reached 25 late in the first half before a 3-pointer by Becky Hammon narrowed San Antonio's halftime deficit to 52-30.

Hammon, Sophia Young and Chamique Holdsclaw came into the game averaging 50 points total, but they managed just 21 on Sunday. Of the three, only Holdsclaw played more than 20 minutes.

NOTES: Brondello is scheduled to give birth by induced labor Monday. Her husband, associate head coach Olaf Lange, will coach the Silver Stars during their two-game road trip. Brondello said she plans to return to the bench as early as June 11, when San Antonio hosts Tulsa.