Storm-Sun Preview

By JUSTIN EINHORN
Posted Jun 30 2012 8:36PM

Less than 24 hours after having a long winning streak snapped, the Seattle Storm have to face the Eastern Conference leaders in a place they haven't won in nearly nine years.

It wouldn't appear to be an ideal spot for the Storm to end that drought as they visit the Connecticut Sun on Sunday.

Seattle had been the hottest team in the league entering the weekend, but its five-game winning streak came to an end with a 77-59 loss in New York on Saturday. The game ended around 5 p.m. eastern time, after which the Storm had to make the trip for this mid-afternoon matchup.

The Storm (6-8) have lost their last nine visits to Connecticut, including one in the 2004 WNBA finals. That streak dates back to July 17, 2003.

The Sun (10-3) own a two-game lead atop the East and have only played once in the past nine days, never trailing in a 77-64 victory at Washington on Friday.

That game came after the team had a long break following the worst loss in franchise history, 95-61 at Indiana on June 21.

"We had a big cluster of games and we got really tired, but after a week of sitting around, we were ready to go again," said reserve forward Mistie Mims, who had a season-high 15 points against the Mystics.

Mims doesn't get much notoriety on a team which includes fellow frontliners Tina Charles and Asjha Jones, but she's made all nine of her field-goal attempts over the past two games and is shooting a league-best 67.9 percent.

"She's had several games where she's come in and been perfect from the floor," coach Mike Thibault said. "I would have tried to play her more (Friday) except Asjha and Tina were playing really well, too. It's a nice problem to have."

Jones tied a season high with 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds Friday, and Charles posted her eighth double-double but was held to 13 points on 6-of-15 shooting. Charles has been struggling, averaging 11.0 points and 8.7 rebounds over her last three games.

Charles averaged 19.0 points and 10.0 boards last season versus the Storm as these teams split two matchups. Sue Bird hit a 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left to give Seattle an 81-79 home victory Aug. 5 in the most recent meeting.

Bird was held to nine points while shooting 3 of 11 on Saturday after averaging 18.2 points during the Storm's five-game win streak.

"We hadn't played like this for a while," Bird said after the Storm turned the ball over 25 times against the Liberty. "It was definitely disappointing.''

Storm upend Sun 89-83 in OT

Posted Jul 01 2012 9:48PM

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) A day after not playing well, the Seattle Storm rebounded in a big way on Sunday.

Camille Little scored five of her game-high 27 points in overtime and added nine rebounds and Seattle beat the Connecticut Sun 89-83.

It was the sixth win in seven games for the Storm (7-8).

Seattle shot 32.2 percent in a 77-59 loss to the New York Liberty on Saturday.

``It got our attention,'' Storm coach Brian Agler said. ``We had a good win at Washington (72-55 on June 24). We were on a good stretch. We go to New York. We sit in a hotel for three days. Everybody is telling us how good we were playing now, and we go in there and lay an egg.

``We had quite a few conversations between last night and today. ... We talked more about ourselves and what we have to get corrected and how that's not us. (The) Seattle Storm, we compete. We're champions.''

Tina Thompson had 20 points, seven rebounds and four blocks for Seattle on Sunday. Sue Bird added 11 points, eight assists and five rebounds, and reserve Ewelina Kobryn had 13 points.

The Storm played without starting center Ann Wauters (strained calf).

``We were so disappointed in (Saturday's) game,'' Little said. ``We didn't play our best, even close to our best basketball. We all individually and collectively decided to play better.''

Asjha Jones had 15 points and 11 rebounds for Connecticut (10-4) and Kara Lawson scored a team-high 22.

Tina Charles had 13 points and 14 rebounds.

``They were just playing me really hard,'' Charles said. ``They had a lot of double teams. They clogged the paint. It was tough.''

Charles has shot 32 percent in Connecticut's past four games. She's averaged 11.5 points during that stretch.

``She is getting double-teamed a lot,'' Sun coach Mike Thibault said. ``She has missed some shots that she normally makes. I thought early in the game (Sunday), she settled for some jump shots. I thought that she had a matchup where she could attack inside.''

The Sun shot 35.2 percent against Seattle.

``Basically, we just got outplayed,'' Thibault said. ``They're three post players scored 60 of their 89 points. We didn't shoot it well, but credit their defense.

``I thought we were a step behind in some areas defensively tonight and it cost us.''

Katie Smith made a contested 3-pointer from the right corner with less than three minutes left in overtime to give Seattle a 79-78 lead.

Little made the second of two free throws to extend the Storm's lead.

Bird followed with an open 3-pointer to push her team ahead 83-78 with 1:52 left.

Lawson made three free throws for the Sun to cut their deficit to two.

On Seattle's next possession, Little had a putback off a missed Thompson 3-pointer to give Seattle an 85-81 edge.

Allison Hightower (16 points, four assists) made two free throws for Connecticut with 48.3 seconds remaining.

Moments later, Little drove for a layup.

Both teams had a chance to win in regulation.

Bird missed two free throws with 13.6 seconds left.

Jones and Charles each missed shots on the other end as the game went into overtime.

Lawson made a 3-pointer with under three minutes left in regulation to give Connecticut a 74-71 lead.

Less than a minute later, Thompson got wide-open and made a 3-pointer to tie it.

• Storm: --
• Sun: --

• Storm: --
• Sun: --

• Lead Changes: 16
• Times Tied: 12

• Arena: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, CT
• Officials: #39 Michael Price, #42 Roy Gulbeyan, #44 Felicia Grinter
• Attendance: 9201
• Duration: 2:10