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Storm cruise past Silver Stars 82-61

Jun 21, 2010 - 4:37 AM SEATTLE(AP) -- Swin Cash had 22 points and nine rebounds, Lauren Jackson added 19 points and 14 rebounds and the Seattle Storm beat the San Antonio Silver Stars 82-61 Sunday night.

Camille Little had 17 points and nine rebounds for league-best Seattle (11-2), which won for the seventh time in eight games and has the only winning record in the Western Conference. The Storm improved to 8-0 in conference play and 7-0 at home.

Storm players were happy to get a win after just returning from a loss Thursday at Indiana and a win Friday at New York.

"We had heavy legs at the beginning," Cash said. "But we just really fought through it and once we got into a rhythm and started attacking and being aggressive and getting to the offensive glass, I thought that really put a pep in our step."

Becky Hammon and Chamique Holdsclaw scored 12 points each for San Antonio (4-6).

Jackson scored 13 in the second quarter to help give the Storm a 37-30 halftime lead.

Storm guard Sue Bird left the game midway through the third quarter with a strained left knee, but expects to be ready for the next game Friday at home against Indiana. Bird did not score in 22 minutes.

"The best thing about this is our next game isn't until Friday so I have some time to take care of it and we'll see how it reacts," Bird said. "Hopefully, it's just something small where it's just sore."

The Storm outrebounded San Antonio 46-23, including 17 offensive rebounds. The Silver Stars failed to get a rebound in the third quarter.

"That was our strategy going in was to really attack the glass," said Cash, who had a game-high six offensive rebounds. "We try to do that every game but we knew it was a focus for this team."

San Antonio coach Sandy Brondello didn't like what she saw.

"We got outhustled and punched up in all areas of the game," Brondello said. "I thought we were a little tougher than that, but obiously not. This (Seattle) is the best team in the league. We knew it was hard coming into their home court, but allowing 17 offensive boards is just unacceptable."

Little scored six and Cash five during a 15-2 run in the third quarter to give the Storm a 55-39 lead after the Silver Stars had pulled to 40-37.

Tanisha Wright stripped the ball at midcourt from Becky Hammon and made a layup to put the Storm up 20-14 after one quarter.

The Storm outrebounded the Silver Stars 26-14 in the first half, including 11 offensive rebounds.

Jackson's father, Gary, and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck had courtside seats at the Father's Day game. Gary Jackson traveled from Australia to visit his daughter.