Seattle Storm will face Atlanta Dream in WNBA Finals

And so they meet again.

The last time Seattle faced an undefeated Atlanta, it was a month into the season. But even then, Storm forward Lauren Jackson sensed her team's strongest contender for WNBA title would be the Dream.

She was right.

Behind a playoff-record 42 points from All-Star Angel McCoughtry, Atlanta defeated New York 105-93 to win its first Eastern Conference championship in the organization's three-year history. The fourth-seeded Dream swept No. 2 seed New York and No. 1 seed Washington to advance to WNBA Finals, playing the top-seeded Storm in a best-of-five series beginning at noon Sunday at KeyArena.

The feat is more impressive when noting Atlanta was 4-30 its inaugural season in 2008.

"They've got great talent," Storm coach Brian Agler said. "It's a very deep team.

"Atlanta has got a lot of the similar players they had a year ago. They started off strong, flattened out a little bit, then made a resurgence here late in the season. "

Seattle, which is currently on a seven-game winning streak, swept Atlanta during the regular season. But both games required fourth-quarter comebacks. Jackson finished with 32 points and 10 rebounds to lead Seattle in the 90-72 win in June, handing Atlanta its first loss of the season.

Attempting to rest the starters, the Storm's bench buoyed the 80-70 road win in August with guard Tanisha Wright and Jackson combining for 28 points and 15 rebounds.

Injury update

Storm forward Le'coe Willingham practiced on Monday, stating her sprained right ankle was a little sore but she's fine. Willingham suffered the injury late in the third quarter of Sunday's playoff win against Phoenix.

Willingham attempted a block against center Tangela Smith, getting called for a foul as both players fell hard to the court. Willingham limped off the court and did not return to the game. She expects to be available for Game 1 of the WNBA Finals.

Go green

The Storm is asking fans to wear green in support of the team on Sunday. The organization was close to a KeyArena lower-bowl sellout (9,686) as of Monday evening and will open the upper deck to accommodate overflow.

When Seattle won the title in 2004, it filled the facility's 17,072-seat capacity for two games despite the Seahawks playing the same day as Game 2 on Oct. 10.

The Seahawks' season opener is Sunday.

Tickets for Game 1 are available at TicketMaster.com or by calling 1-800-WNBA-TIX. Prices range from $24 to $86.

Jayda Evans: 206-464-2067 or jevans@seattletimes.com