Seattle sweep: Lauren Jackson scores 25 as Storm beat Monarchs for 2nd straight night, 80-70

Jackson leads Seattle past Sacramento 80-70

SEATTLE — A day later, the Sacramento Monarchs still didn’t have a solution for slowing Lauren Jackson.

Playing her first home game since re-signing with Seattle in the offseason, Jackson scored 25 points and led the Storm to an easy 80-70 win over Sacramento on Sunday night.

A free agent after last season, the two-time MVP chose to remain in Seattle. With the lower bowl of KeyArena nearly full, Jackson scored Seattle’s first eight points as the Storm swept a home-and-home with Sacramento to start the season.

Seattle (2-0) beat the Monarchs 71-61 on Saturday in Sacramento. Jackson scored 23 in that victory.

With fans showing up with countless signs thanking Jackson for remaining in Seattle instead of accepting an offer to go to Phoenix, the Australian star didn’t disappoint her adopted hometown.

After Sacramento scored the first point of the game, Jackson went on a personal 8-1 run and kept it going throughout. Jackson made 9 of 16 shots and added five rebounds. It was her first game in Seattle since last July 12, as Jackson went to play for Australia in the Olympics and then missed the remainder of the WNBA season following surgery to repair a right ankle injury suffered while playing in Beijing.

Sue Bird had 15 points and eight assists, and Camille Little chipped in with 11 points for Seattle.

Kara Lawson led Sacramento (0-2) with 17 off the bench as the Monarchs got very little production from its starting five. Laura Harper, who scored 11 points on Saturday against Seattle, was held scoreless. Nicole Powell, Sacramento’s leading scorer from last season, was the only Monarchs’ starter in double figures finishing with 12.

Consecutive 3-pointers by Lawson and Powell with 3 minutes left got the Monarchs back within 72-62, but Sacramento couldn’t get any closer.

Playing its home opener 10 years to the day of a WNBA team being awarded to Seattle, the Storm rode the momentum of the celebratory atmosphere and put Sacramento in chase mode from the start.

After Jackson scored Seattle’s first eight points, she hit a 3-pointer to begin a string of six consecutive shots made by the Storm early in the first quarter as they surged to a 17-4 lead. The advantage grew to 22-8 on Bird’s 3-pointer late in the first quarter and Sacramento could never recover.