SAN ANTONIO — In theory there should be nothing that ties the Storm to its inaugural season in 2000.

The jersey has changed. Various owners have come and gone. The team doesn't even have one player from the original roster.

But after an 80-67 loss to San Antonio on Saturday, the Storm has surpassed its worst start in franchise history, dropping to 1-6. In 2000, the Storm, with names like Simone Edwards, Katrina Hibbert and Kamila Vodichkova, began the season 1-5 before defeating Los Angeles in overtime for its second win of a 6-26 season.

The new millennium Storm, with names like Sue Bird, Ann Wauters and Tina Thompson, is 0-5 on the road and looking as helpless as it is winless. The sole victory was at home against winless Tulsa (0-8).

"It's like a rhetorical question but yes, it feels bad," said guard Tanisha Wright of making dubious Storm history. "When you're in a funk like this, you need to find a way to get it done, and we're not finding ways to get it done."

Thompson said after a blowout loss to undefeated Minnesota (9-0) on Wednesday the Storm defense wasn't designed to allow opponents to shoot over 50 percent.

"That shouldn't happen," she snapped.

At the AT&T Center, it happened again. San Antonio (3-4) outscored Seattle 23-10 in the opening quarter and was shooting 60 percent from the field as it took a 41-30 lead into halftime.

The Storm cut the deficit to 43-36 after a layin by Wauters with 7:52 remaining in the third quarter. San Antonio responded with an 8-2 run to increase the lead to 51-38 and wasn't challenged again.

"That kind of thing kills you," Wright said of the Silver Stars' run. "Those are the times when we need to dig down and show our character and right now, the character of this team isn't showing. I mean collectively, individually, it's not showing."

Both coaches conceded the outcome by the fourth quarter, probably the only reason San Antonio finished shooting 46.8 percent from the field. Its bench outscored Seattle's 41-30, led by 13 points from Danielle Adams.

Storm rookie Shekinna Stricklen led her team with 14 points off the bench and had eight boards to help Seattle outrebound San Antonio 37-30. But Seattle made little of the extra opportunities, trailing by as many as 21 points.

"I'm not saying we're going to make wholesale changes. We've got our team, and we're going to look forward, but we're going to really analyze how we're doing things," Storm coach Brian Agler said. "What I would like for (Sue Bird), Tanisha and Camille (Little) to do is help us develop an identity of our team. At some point in the season when a team starts playing well, they develop an identity. Something they can hang their hat on. At this point, our team hasn't done that."

In the past, point guard Bird has been able to shoot the Storm out of its troubles. But she's 11 for 50 (22 percent) from the field on the road this season.

"We're just not playing very well, and it starts with me," Bird said. "We know we need to get better, and we know we need to get wins. It's the same story after every loss."

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

SEATTLE		fg	ft
min		m-a	m-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Wright	31:28	4-10	0-0	2-3	6	5	9
Little	28:22	3-5	4-4	0-8	1	3	10
Wauters	22:58	3-9	2-4	3-8	2	0	8
KSmith	25:04	2-3	0-0	0-2	0	3	5
Bird	31:21	1-13	2-2	1-2	5	1	5
Thompson	16:21	4-9	0-0	2-4	0	3	10
Dunlap	6:32	0-2	2-2	2-2	1	0	2
Stricklen	27:17	6-13	0-0	4-8	1	4	14
Kobryn	9:09	1-2	1-2	0-0	0	0	4
Clark	1:28	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0
Totals		24-66	11-14	14-37	16	19	67

Percentages: FG .364, FT .786. Three-point goals: 8-30, .267 (Stricklen 2-5, Thompson 2-6, Kobryn 1-1, K.Smith 1-2, Wright 1-6, Bird 1-7, Little 0-1, Wauters 0-2). Team rebounds: 7. Team turnovers: 15 (22 PTS). Blocked shots: 2 (Kobryn, Stricklen). Turnovers: 15 (Wright 5, Bird 3, Kobryn 2, Wauters 2, Dunlap, K.Smith, Thompson). Steals: 5 (Wright 2, Kobryn, Little, K.Smith). Technical fouls: Thompson, 2:45 third.

SAN ANTONIO		fg	ft
min		m-a	m-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Christon	15:22	3-4	0-0	0-0	1	1	7
Young	28:19	4-10	4-5	2-5	0	1	12
Appel	24:38	1-2	2-2	1-6	4	4	4
Robinson	28:12	5-11	1-1	0-4	3	1	11
Hammon	23:38	2-5	1-2	0-3	4	0	5
Adams	12:00	5-10	2-5	2-2	0	5	13
Perkins	22:09	3-9	0-0	0-5	4	1	6
Johnson	22:54	3-5	2-2	1-2	1	2	10
Bevilaqua	7:47	0-1	0-0	0-1	0	0	0
Morrison	15:01	3-5	4-4	2-2	0	1	12
Totals		29-62	16-21	8-30	17	16	80

Percentages: FG .468, FT .762. Three-point goals: 6-16, .375 (Morrison 2-2, Johnson 2-3, Christon 1-2, Adams 1-4, Bevilaqua 0-1, Hammon 0-2, Perkins 0-2). Team rebounds: 9. Team turnovers: 10 (14 PTS). Blocked shots: 3 (Appel, Johnson, Perkins). Turnovers: 9 (Hammon 4, Johnson 3, Adams, Bevilaqua). Steals: 9 (Appel 3, Perkins 2, Young 2, Johnson, Robinson). Technical fouls: None.

Seattle	10	20	17	20 — 67
San Antonio	23	18	22	17 — 80

Attendance: 8,187 (9,839). Time: 1:47. Officials: Kurt Walker, Cameron Inouye, Angelica Suffren.