- At one point during Betty Lennox’s second-half three-point barrage, I slid a note to Alan Horton suggesting he ask Adia Barnes whether Lennox’s play reminded her of the 2004 WNBA Finals.

That might have been the last time Lennox was so hot, but when I looked up the box scores, I got a surprise. Lennox hit three triples in the Storm’s Game 1 loss, but didn’t hit a single one in either Game 2 or Game 3, when she combined for 50 points. So tonight’s performance was truly unprecedented for Lennox.

- No Storm player has ever hit seven three-pointers in a regular-season game. Sue Bird tied the franchise record – previously held by Sonja Henning from the expansion 2000 season – with six at Detroit last Aug. 8. You might remember Sue also set a WNBA record for three-pointers in a half in that same game, hitting all six of her threes before halftime. Betty had seven threes in the second half tonight.

- There’s always something that slips through the cracks during Live From Press Row. Tonight I forgot to mention that Sonics Mickael Gelabale and Johan Petro, regular presences at practice, were sitting courtside. Gelabale was intently studying the boxscore at halftime, as if he was going to be tested on it later.

- When they said Katie Gearlds was leaving right after the game to head home for her graduation from Purdue, they weren’t kidding. Gearlds had time to answer a few questions before bolting the arena for Sea-Tac Airport, where Bird and Lauren Jackson were headed to arrivals instead of departures.

- LJ’s jersey was hanging in her locker and it was decorated for her birthday. While she won’t see it on her actual birthday, Jackson will get a look tomorrow.

- Speaking of which, the latest is that Bird and Jackson will practice with the Storm on Saturday. Season ticket holders, see you at the “Meet Your Team” event. Everyone else, check out storm.wnba.com for all the latest tomorrow.

I watched the end of the Monarchs shootaround this morning before interviewing Jenny Boucek for the site. Sacramento is still without vets Ticha Penicheiro, DeMya Walker and Rebekkah Brunson, all working their way back from overseas, but this group seems to have some good chemistry.

Boucek closed shootaround like Anne Donovan does here in Seattle, with a halfcourt shootout with $50 on the line. Nobody made it the first time through, but three did in a span of about five shots in the second round. That’s $16.67 apiece (did anyone bring change?) for Nicole Powell, Kim Smith and rookie Erin Batth.

Yolanda Griffith did not win despite bringing out her veteran tricks, shimmying and shaking in an effort to get the shooter’s roll with her attempt.

A very Happy Birthday to our favorite Australian power forward. Lauren Jackson turns 26 today. Hard to believe she was a tender 19 years of age (going on 20) when she first arrived in Seattle in 2001.

Unfortunately, it’s not a great birthday for LJ, who is busy making the lengthy flight back to Seattle from Russia. At least she’s got Sue Bird along for the trip.

The news that Francesca Zara will not be coming to Seattle and the Storm’s roster is almost set dominated yesterday’s practice report and story. A few things that might have fallen through the cracks:

- Betty’s back. Lennox practiced for the first time with the Storm this season after playing in Tuesday’s game at Connecticut.

“If I could just get a few hours of sleep, that would really help,” Lennox said. “Other than that, I’m excited to be back in Seattle. I’m excited to be back in the United States, first of all.”

Lennox sprained her right ankle at the start of the Polish Finals. Since her team had four American players, that meant her team sat Lennox down and she did not see any action the rest of the way. Lennox re-twisted the ankle on Thursday, but later returned to practice.

- Katie Gearlds is human. The Storm’s first-round pick, who has shot the ball so well during training camp, was just 2-for-14 from the field in her first two exhibition games.

“The game in Indiana – total wash,” said Donovan. “She’s starting at point guard, out of position, against Tully. The game at Connecticut, we’re looking at that as more of an evaluation. She did a good job coming off the bench, playing more of her role, more of her position, but she’s still a rookie and that’s still really clear.”

Gearlds’ reputation as a shooter clearly preceeds her.

“She’s a focal point,” Donovan said. “She checked in the game, Connecticut double-teamed her as soon as she touched the ball. That’s how much respect they have for her shooting. It’s like ‘Welcome to the WNBA.’”

With Sue Bird due back to Seattle over the weekend, Gearlds’ point guard days are nearing an end, at least for now. Donovan still has interest in using her at the position down the road, but doesn’t see it happening much, if at all, this season.

“It’s got to be against the right team,” explained Donovan. “It’s not going to be against Tully. It’s going to be in the right situation where we can set her up for success.”

- Donovan is ready for Sue and Lauren to get back. One of the things we talked about last week in the discussion of lessons from camp was how much less has been said this year about “When we get Sue back … .” Now that the Storm superstars are so close to arriving, however, Donovan is clearly pining for them.

“Once we get everybody back in their roles,” she said, “a lot of things are going to take care of themselves.”

Maybe it’s just the fact that we’re at KeyArena today instead of the friendly confines of The Furtado Center, but there seems to be a diferent sense of urgency to today’s practice. The preseason finale is tomorrow and the season opener is just nine days away, so a sense of urgency is appropriate.

The Key is almost ready to go for tomorrow’s game. The Storm’s court is down, the “Go Storm” banner is up at the South End of the arena and the 200 level has been curtained off. There’s only one big change that needs to be made – the scoreboard still reads “Sonics” and “Mavs” from the Sonics home finale.

Five-on-five today against the practice squad, first halfcourt and then later going up and down. It’s competitive. Turnovers seem like an issue for the Storm offense after there were 25 of them in Tuesday’s preseason game at Connecticut. This is Betty Lennox’s first practice with the Storm after she played in that game, so there’s some reintegration going on that should work itself out. Still, taking care of the basketball should be a priority over the next week.

Katie Gearlds nails a one-and-one and we’re finished for the day.

More after media …