SEATTLE -- The Seattle Storm's season ended way too early for coach Anne Donovan.
"I think everybody is disappointed how the season finished,'' Donovan said Wednesday of the 2004 champion Storm's first-round playoff departure. "I think many people are surprised we're not playing right now.''
Led by All-Stars Lauren Jackson and Sue Bird, the Storm made it back to the playoffs with a reshuffled roster after the loss of veterans Sheri Sam, Kamila Vodichkova and Tully Bevilaqua -- players they didn't keep from the title team because of the league's salary cap.
But after winning the first game of their opening-round playoff series with Houston, the Storm dropped Games 2 and 3 and headed to the sidelines. The Comets wrapped up the series with a 75-58 rout last Saturday.
Jackson was limited to 10 points and Bird to six in Game 3 as the Storm lost consecutive games at KeyArena for the first time since June 2004.
"I think it was the surprising quick end that people are disappointed about,'' said Donovan, also the team's director of player personnel.
After losing two starters and her top reserve to free agency, Donovan wasn't sure what to expect this season. She was worried, though.
"I thought this year was going to be a year when we really struggled,'' she said.
The Storm did suffer a six-game losing streak midway through the season, but regrouped to finished 20-14 to match their record for the 2004 season. Donovan reached another milestone, becoming the WNBA's first female coach to get 100 victories. Last fall, she became the first female coach to win a WNBA title.
So although Donovan is disappointed about the way the season ended, she is trying to stay positive about 2005.
"I feel very good about the progress we made this year,'' she said. "I feel very good about a 20 and 14 season considering the changes we had this year. When you look at what this team accomplished, there were good things.''
She refused to second-guess herself about the departures of Sam, Vodichkova and Bevilaqua, saying her hands were tied.
"I didn't make the changes,'' she said. "The players made the changes.''
The Storm's future will be built around forward Jackson and guard Bird, and players such as 23-year-old forward Iziane Castro Marques of Brazil, whom Donovan thinks could make the most improvement next season.
"I think experience goes a long way in this league,'' she said.
With that thought in mind, Donovan would like to add a veteran player in the offseason, preferably a guard and "somebody who wants a ring at all costs -- who is at the point in her career where she just wants a ring.''
Donovan said there is the possibility that the Storm could lose Jackson for next season. The Australian wants to play for her country at the September 2006 FIBA World Championships in Brazil.
"It's very complicated,'' Donovan said. "It's an issue we're all concerned about. The timing of the championship is the major problem. I don't think anyone quite has figured the solution out yet.''