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Saturday, Jul. 8 7:30pm ET
Orlando wins fifth straight | |||||
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BOX SCORE
ORLANDO, Florida (Ticker) -- Nykesha Sales scored all of her 16 points in the second half and fueled a pivotal burst as the Orlando Miracle defeated the Seattle Storm, 64-53, for a franchise record-tying fifth straight victory. Sales was scoreless in the first half as Orlando struggled to a 24-21 lead. But she caught fire after halftime, making 6-of-6 shots from the field. "I never got a chance to get in the flow in the first half but in the second half I created a lot more," Sales said. "I simply played up to my potential." "Nykesha really got it going in the second half," Miracle coach Carolyn Peck said. "She had the mindset of, `OK it's my turn to take over.' She did." The 6-foot guard scored 11 points in a 15-8 surge that widened a two-point lead to 51-42 with 6:07 remaining. The Miracle led by at least seven points thereafter and kept their lead atop the Eastern Conference at 2 1/2 games. "I knew it was just a matter of time before Nykesha got it going," teammate Adrienne Johnson said. "Just because she struggled for a couple of games means that's the way it's going to be. She's an exceptional athlete. Tonight she let the game come to her and turned it up in terms of aggression in the second half. She was confident of her shots and that's the Nykesha I know." Johnson scored 18 points for Orlando, which has won five in a row for the first time since August 12-20 of its inaugural season last year. Simone Edwards scored 18 points for expansion Seattle, which lost for the 10th time in 11 games as it continued to struggle on offense. The Storm have been held below 60 points in four of their last six games. Seattle closed to 36-34 on a basket by Edwards with 11:01 to go before Sales and Orlando took charge. She scored 11 points in the next five minutes, including a 3-pointer that provided a nine-point cushion. Led by Sales, Orlando shot a blistering 69 percent (16-of-23) in the second half. "In the second half, we played more aggressively and had better ball movement and better defense," Sales said. "A lot of great things opened up for us." "She definitely stepped up her game and hit some key shots," Storm guard Sonja Henning said. "I thought they did a great job and they did not panic. They simply executed better and hit open shots." Cintia Dos Santos scored 10 points and Taj McWilliams added nine and nine rebounds for the Miracle, who shot 50 percent (23-of-46) overall. Henning scored 11 points for the Storm, who shot less than 40 percent (21-of-53) and committed 18 turnovers. | ALSO SEE WNBA Scoreboard RECAPS Phoenix 66 Indiana 65
Orlando 64 AUDIO/VIDEO   Orlando's Nykesha Sales scores off a Seattle turnover.avi: 768 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 | |||||