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Blistering second half leads Storm past Sparks

Aug 18, 2007 - 4:31 AM SEATTLE (Ticker) -- Lauren Jackson scored 18 of her 32 points in the second half as the Seattle Storm surged to a 97-77 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday.

The win closes out the regular season for the Storm (17-17), who earned the fourth seed in the Western Conference playoffs and will host top-seeded Phoenix (22-11) in Game One of the first round on August 24.

Jackson - one of the front-runners for league MVP - shot 7-for-14 from the floor and 15-for-16 from the free-throw line while pulling down 15 rebounds. Iziane Castro Marques chipped in 24 points for Seattle, which shot nearly 48 percent (32-of-67).

The Storm trailed, 41-37, at the half but outscored the Sparks, 60-36, in the second half to earn the blowout win.

Sidney Spencer scored 25 points for Los Angeles (10-23), which closes out a disappointing season Sunday against Houston after making it to the conference finals in 2006.