Teams in the WNBA won't want to go up against Lauren Jackson after she has an off game. The Phoenix Mercury had to do just that last night; the Merc paid the price as Seattle defeated Phoenix 94-81. Jackson, who only scored 9 points on 4-13 shooting against Houston in their last game, responded by scoring a career high 35 points againt the Mecury.

Jackson started fast, scoring 8 points in the first quarter and nothing the Mercury tried could slow her down. "We tried to switch up on her, defensively," Paul Westhead said. "We went to a zone. We went to different people. But it just didn't matter."

The return of Janell Burse to the line-up benefited Jackson who commented that "I didn't get double-teamed once, so it was easy. We've got so many good post players, they can't afford to double-team and leave someone open."

Diana Taurasi and Cappie Pondexter combined for 49 points for the Mercury, but their post players were no match for Jackson, Burse and Wendy Palmer. Phoenix also received a blow before the game when they learned that Kelly Miller will be out 2-3 weeks with a hamstring injury. Miller is so important to what Westhead wants to do that he can't "put a value" on losing her in the lineup.