Storm Looks to Stop Sacramento’s Streak

When the Seattle Storm won at ARCO Arena on Jun. 5, the momentum the victory provided helped propel them to six straight wins, and a four-game road winning streak that is still intact pending next week's East Coast trip. Now, the Storm wants to keep the Monarchs from making that same kind of momentum-building statement at KeyArena.

Lennox's shot gave the Storm the win in Sacramento. Rocky Widner/NBAE/Getty

After starting the season 2-6, Sacramento has won four of its last five and its last three games. But those last three were all in Sacramento, and the Monarchs are starting a season-long five-game road trip that will take them to the Eastern Seaboard as well after taking on the Storm. Seattle Coach Anne Donovan knows that the Monarchs want to start their road trip off with a victory.

"We're the start of a five-game road trip for them, so I'm sure they want to get that off to a good start," Donovan said after today's practice. "The longer you go on a road trip, the harder it is to get the wins, so I'm sure, for them, this is a focus. And they played us well, in their minds they played us well in Sacramento."

In that game, the Storm held a 21-point lead in the first half before the Monarchs rallied to make it a tight game down the stretch. The game was tied at 63-all in the final minute before guard Betty Lennox put the Storm ahead, scoring from the right baseline with less than two seconds left on the clock to give the Storm the win.

This time, Seattle may have to play without Lennox, who missed yesterday's 24-point win against San Antonio because of her fractured nose and did not practice today either. Officially, Lennox is a game-time decision, though she did tell the media that she could have practiced today had it not been for the headaches that have plagued her since the nose was broken last Tuesday against Houston.

"I'm trying not to take the drugs and I'm suffering," Lennox said, "and when I do take the drugs, I suffer in other ways."

After undergoing a procedure to reset the nose so it heals properly, Lennox had a tough time watching yesterday's game because of the pain. She left at halftime, which turned out to be fortunate because she wasn't around to see San Antonio wing Semeka Randall suffer an even worse fracture of her nose near the same location Lennox was injured two games beforehand.

"My teammates were telling me about it, and it sounded pretty terrible," Lennox said. "Again, it's just about us being so small, being up underneath there catching all the elbows and everything, just misjudging the person's jump, that's what it is."

If there was a positive to Lennox missing the game, it was that it allowed Donovan to see again how effective her bench can be when it gets an opportunity. Forward Alicia Thompson and guard Michelle Greco made the most of their chance to play.

"Maybe this is a good lesson for me that our bench can play more than I give them credit for," Donovan said post-game. "They all stepped in and did a great job."

Unfortunately, Greco sprained her right ankle during the second half against the Silver Stars. While the sprain wasn't considered particularly serious during the game, Greco was unable to practice today and was limping around in a walking boot. She too is officially listed as a game-time decision.

The third member of Seattle's walking wounded is center Kamila Vodichkova. Vodichkova hurt her foot during a collision that sent her tumbling to the ground against San Antonio. When she came up limping, it was a nerve-wracking case of déjà vu for the Storm. A year ago, Vodichkova suffered a season-ending sprained left foot against the Silver Stars. Vodichkova was able to stay in the game this time, but further examination revealed a slightly sprained right foot that kept her out of today's practice. Also termed a game-time decision, Vodichkova should be able to play.

On the court, Donovan's main concern is a Sacramento defense that was the best in the league on a per-possession basis in 2003 and has been strong again this year, allowing just 93.2 points per 100 possessions. Donovan referenced a recent Sacramento Bee article where the Monarchs embraced the notion of "winning ugly".

"We've found our identity and embraced it," said guard Kara Lawson, who has replaced an injured Edna Campbell in the Monarchs starting lineup. "We have to win ugly."

"We're a blue-collar, hard-nosed team like the (NBA Champion Detroit) Pistons," added Sacramento Coach John Whisenant.

While the Storm has actually been better than the Monarchs on defense when pace is taken into account, allowing just 91.5 points per 100 possessions, Donovan doesn't want to win ugly.

"I think we're better than winning ugly," she said. "I've said that before and I really believe that. I'll take winning ugly over not, but I think we're a better than that."

Sacramento and Seattle do share a desire to push the tempo and get easy baskets in transition, and the team that is more successful at doing that stands a good chance of coming up with a victory.

"Transition is where our team is best," forward Tangela Smith said after the Monarchs crushed New York last night. "If the ball is in (point guard) Ticha (Penicheiro)'s hand, it's going to get to a person who can score."

"I like our running game," Donovan said. "Sue is so good in the open court, Betty and Sheri (Sam) fill the lanes so nicely. Our posts are mobile, they can get up and down the floor. … I think we're as good as they are (in transition)."