SEATTLE – Sue Bird had 21 of her 23 points in the second half, and the Seattle Storm rallied from a 13-point deficit to beat the Minnesota Lynx 96-88 Saturday night.
Seattle (21-10), which secured its fifth consecutive WNBA playoff berth two nights earlier, set a franchise record for victories and moved one game ahead of idle San Antonio atop the Western Conference with three games remaining.
Five Seattle players scored in double figures as the Storm topped its previous victory total set in 2004 and matched in 2005. Tanisha Wright and Swin Cash scored 17 points each as Seattle improved its league-best home record to 15-1. Camille Little had 16 points, and Yolanda Griffith 11.
Seimone Augustus led the Lynx (14-16) with 26 points. Anna DeForge scored 17 points, and Lindsey Harding had 11 points and 10 assists for the Lynx, who dropped into a tie with Houston and defending champion Phoenix for fifth place in the West — two games behind fourth-place Sacramento.
Seattle trailed by 13 points early in the third quarter before it outscored the Lynx 22-9 and tied the score 57-57 with 3 minutes, 54 seconds to play in the period. Little led the comeback with eight points. Bird scored Seattle's final six points of the third, giving the Storm a 68-66 lead.
Seattle's Sheryl Swoopes took an elbow to head with 1:10 left in the game. She was taken from the floor by stretcher as medical staff stabilized her head and body in braces as a precaution, according to a team spokesman.