Storm-Silver Stars Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Jul 13 2011 9:20PM

After recording the best start in franchise history last month, the San Antonio Silver Stars are still searching for their first win of July.

They might have to wait a little longer with the Seattle Storm coming to town.

Looking to snap a season-worst skid, the Silver Stars try to avoid a seventh consecutive defeat to the Storm on Thursday night.

San Antonio (7-4), which won four straight and seven of eight to open the season, now finds itself in the midst of three-game losing-streak.

After getting swept by New York in a home-and-home set, the Silver Stars fell 84-74 to Los Angeles on Tuesday as Becky Hammon, averaging a team-best 16.3 points, was held to a season-low five on 2-of-14 shooting - including an 0-for-7 effort from 3-point range.

"It's not the end of the world. We still have a lot of basketball to play," forward Jia Perkins said. "We just have to bounce back. We'll address what needs to be done.

"We have to bounce back and get ready for Seattle. We don't have that much time to fix everything. We need to practice determined and just go to work."

Regrouping against the Storm (7-4), however, could be difficult given San Antonio's recent efforts in this series.

The Silver Stars, who have dropped six straight to Seattle by an average of 13.5 points, lost all four meetings last season as three-time MVP Lauren Jackson averaged 24.5 points on 56.4 percent shooting and 10.0 rebounds. While coach Dan Hughes' team won't have to worry about containing the injured Jackson (torn hip labrum), slowing down All-Star point guard Sue Bird could prove to be almost as difficult.

Bird, averaging what would be a career-high 16.1 points this season, has been even better recently, scoring 19.3 per game while going 11-of-19 from 3-point range (57.9 percent) over her last four contests.

She scored a game-high 22 as the Storm defeated Washington 79-71 on Tuesday - Seattle's second straight victory and third in four games.

"When Lauren is out, other people really have to step up and contribute in the scoring factor," coach Brian Agler said. "Sue has consistently done that over the years, and she's doing it now when we need it.

"She's a player who contributes in a lot of different ways, and she makes her teammates better around her, and that's sort of her strength. But she has the ability to score, too, and that's why she's world-class. She can do both."

The Storm, who have scored 77.2 points per game en route to a 5-1 home record, have averaged 10.0 less on the road, where they've lost three of five.

Seattle and San Antonio, along with Minnesota, sit one game behind first-place Phoenix in the Western Conference.

Adams, Robinson lead Silver Stars past Storm 69-66

Posted Jul 15 2011 12:31AM

SAN ANTONIO (AP) On a night when two Seattle players were announced as All-Star starters, a pair of San Antonio rookies stole the spotlight.

Danielle Adams scored 15 of her 23 points in the fourth quarter, and Danielle Robinson hit two free throws with 1.6 seconds left and the Silver Stars beat the Storm 69-66 on Thursday night.

Robinson finished with 12 points to help the Silver Stars (8-4) snap a three-game losing streak overall, and a six-game skid against the Storm.

Adams had a tiebreaking three-point play to put San Antonio up 65-62 with 28.7 seconds to go. After Katie Smith hit a jumper to pull Seattle within one, Robinson hit two free throws with 14.7 seconds left.

Wright's putback cut the lead to one again with 2.2 seconds to go, and Robinson then sealed the game for the Silver Stars.

``Our team has nothing but confidence in us,'' Robinson said, ``so that's a great feeling, to come into the game knowing that the team can depend on us. We come in, and we can be that spark.''

Tanisha Wright scored 18 points and Swin Cash added 13 for Seattle (7-5), which began a three-game road trip. Sue Bird, who was the Western Conference's leading vote-getter for the upcoming All-Star game, finished with 10 points on 4-for-16 shooting from the field.

Bird and Cash will both be back in San Antonio on July 23 for the All-Star game. This will be the seventh All-Star game start for Bird and the third for Cash.

After Smith hit a 3-pointer with 5:48 remaining, Adams hit a 3 of her own. That started a run of Adams scoring 15 consecutive points for her team until Robinson's free throws in the final minute.

``I was just in the groove, and I was feeling it,'' Adams said. ``I had a whole bunch of open shots and I decided to just take over.''

Adams, who's 6-foot-1 and the team's second-leading rebounder, hit 5 of 6 shots from the field and all three of her free throws during her 15-point run burst.

``She's tough,'' Bird said. ``She's obviously and inside-outside player, and they were putting her in spots where we would have to help off once they drove, and they were looking for her. She's a rookie, so hopefully we'll get used to her game.''

Led by the active presence of springy 6-4 forward Ashley Robinson, the Storm cut an 11-point halftime deficit to two points after three quarters. Robinson spurred a defense that helped limit San Antonio to 23.5 percent shooting (4 of 17) in the quarter.

But the Storm had plenty of struggles of their own. They turned it over 20 times in the game and shot only 39.7 percent from the field.

``We did have a rough shooting night, and we still had a chance to win,'' Bird said. ``I think that speaks to our toughness and our defense. We always give ourselves a chance, and tonight it just didn't work out for us. We were right there; it just didn't work out.''

The Silver Stars went up by 13 points in the first half, as their reserves outscored the Storm's 16-2. Porsha Phillips led San Antonio's backups with five points. Seattle had 12 turnovers in the first half.

The Silver Stars led by 10 in the first quarter, holding the Storm to just 18.8 percent shooting from the field. Young led the Silver Stars with six points in the quarter.

Bird didn't score until the second quarter, when she hit a jumper with 6:39 remaining. She had been 0 for 5 up to that point.

Hammon, who hit only 2-of-14 shots in the Silver Stars' 84-74 loss to Los Angeles on Tuesday, didn't score until the second quarter. She finished with five points on 2-for-10 shooting and had nine assists.

Jia Perkins, one of four Silver Stars players to average double figures in scoring, returned to the bench after starting the previous two games. She had three points.

• Storm: --
• Silver Stars: --

• Storm: --
• Silver Stars: --

• Lead Changes: 6
• Times Tied: 5

• Arena: AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX
• Officials: #39 Michael Price, #27 Penny Davis, #42 Roy Gulbeyan
• Attendance: 9167
• Duration: 2:11