Oakwood Live From Press Row - Storm vs. Indiana
|
RELATED CONTENT | |
|
Oakwood Live From Press Row Archive
It is a Final
Score: Storm 83, Indiana 77 (Final)
Lots of things to talk about after tonight's game, but how about we mention free throws quickly? (Really, who's going to stop us?) The Storm hit 31 of 37 free throws, setting franchise records for both makes and attempts. Seattle was 12-for-15 at the 14:20 miss when Indiana committed its eighth team foul to put the Storm in the bonus the rest of the way. Over the last 14+ minutes, the Storm was 19-of-22, including something like 16 straight (I've got to go double-check that one). Lauren Jackson finished the game 11-for-11 from the line, while Bird was 10-for-11, missing her last attempt, her first miss of the season. This is not a big win on the scoreboard, but the Storm played like champions tonight and won a game they needed to win. Now, it's to the road, where we'll find out a lot more about this Storm team's character.
Not Over Yet
Score: Storm 76, Indiana 68
Indiana responded with a 9-2 run after the last full timeout, getting five points from Kelly Miller, to make a game of it. An LJ turnaround made it an eight-point game. This will be hang-on time over the last minute and a half.
Lennox Factor
Score: Storm 72, Indiana 59
If you'll venture with me all the way back to the 14:20 mark, it was 43 apiece when Betty Lennox checked back into the game. Lennox hasn't had a huge second half (she has five points), but her mere presence has been enough to help the Storm open up a double-digit lead. I said it before, but Willis Reed, anyone?
LJ's Game
Score: Storm 68, Indiana 59
Lauren Jackson takes a quick break before shooting two free throws to get her bleeding right leg bandaged. That's about the only break she's taken recently; after hitting both free throws, she's got 22 points and 14 rebounds for the game, 15 and 6 in the second half. The Storm has taken control of this game.
Action at Both Ends
Score: Storm 62, Indiana 54
We're seeing some great action at both ends as this game reaches the stretch run with 7:10 to play. Lauren Jackson, after a slow start, now has her second straight double-double and third this season with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Janell Burse has played her second straight great game, one rebound away from her second career double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds. After Tamika Catchings scored si straight points, the Storm put in Iziane Castro Marques and shut her down. LJ with a great block on Catchings a minute ago.
Storm Run
Score: Storm 52, Indiana 45
Since Betty Lennox came back on the court, the Storm has gone on a 9-2 run to open up a seven-point lead. Lauren Jackson has gotten going, while Chelle Thompson has been spark with a couple of assists, while the Fever has struggled with Kelly Miller on the bench. (She'll check back in after a 2-second timeout.) Storm already in the bonus.
I Heard Wrong
Score: Storm 43, Indiana 43
Like Willis Reed, Betty Lennox has returned to the court for the Storm. Naturally, she got a huge round of applause from the KeyArena crowd when she ran to the scorers table to check in. It caught everyone off guard, including us here courtside. Brian Winters takes timeout and the Sonics Boom Squad is on to entertain the crowd.
All Square
Score: Storm 38, Indiana 38
The Fever has continued its run from the end of the first half into the second half, and has tied up the game at 38-all with 16:01 left. Anne Donovan responds by taking a timeout. Kelly Miller has outscored the Storm 6-3 in this half and now leads all scorers with 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting. The Storm's shooting percentage is down to 41.2% as Indiana has down a better job defensively with its big starting lineup - which lasted only three minutes in the first half - on the court.
Halftime Stats
Score: Storm 35, Indiana 30 (Halftime)
Another good defensive performance for the Storm in the first half holding Indiana to 85.7 points per 100 possessions, well below the Fever's season average (of about 97 or so). Seattle averaged 97.2 points per 100 possessions in the first half. The big number is the Storm's rebound percentage, an outstanding 57.2%. Indiana has not been nearly as effective as the Storm on the offensive glass. I'm told Betty Lennox will not play in the second half. Tanisha Wright works with the starters.
Halftime
Score: Storm 35, Indiana 30 (Halftime)
A little bit of a bizarre end to the first half. After the Fever got consecutive transition baskets to pull within five points - the closest Indiana has been since 6-2 - the Storm held possession with the half running down. Iziane Castro Marques missed a jumper and Lauren Jackson came up with the rebound, but she and everyone else down low appeared to think the horn they heard signified the end of the half, not the shot clock. By the time LJ realized she still had a chance to score, the clock had just expired. So Seattle goes to half up five, which certainly isn't bad but also is not as big of a lead as the Storm could have had. Betty Lennox has a back contusion. Her return is "indefinite."
Storm Responds
Score: Storm 35, Indiana 26
The Storm offense struggled a little bit again when the rookie backcourt of Francesca Zara and Tanisha Wright was in the game together, as Indiana went on a 6-2 run, but the Storm responded to push the lead back up to 10 points. Wright has done a solid job in place of Betty Lennox. However, Tamika Catchings has started getting to the free-throw line for the Fever to make up for the fact that her jumper is not falling. That's a troublesome sign.
Lennox Down
Score: Storm 28, Indiana 21
Betty Lennox goes down with 4:20 to play in the first half. While dribbling the basketball, Lennox appeared to take an elbow in the back and immediately collapsed in pain. Fortunately, she had the presence of mind to call a timeout, which has been turned into a full. She's ble to get up, but will be helped to the locker room by trainers for both teams. We'll keep you updated with the latest. As Lennox leaves, the crowd chants, "Betty! Betty! Betty!" in appreciation.
Miller Time
Score: Storm 24, Indiana 17
The broadcast team and I (well, I guess I'm part of that too) had an interesting conversation with Indiana Coach Brian Winters before the game about Kelly Miller, who has moved to shooting guard from point guard this season but is back at the point following Tully Bevilaqua's injury. Winters acknowledged that, in a perfect world, he'd prefer Miller play shooting guard. In this imperfect one, Winters uses Tamika Catchings to initiate much of the offense. Coretta Brown, currently in the game, and Tan White also have the ability to play the point. Miller has been very active thus far, posting six points and three rebounds. She's helped bring Indiana back into this game.
Fast Pace
Score: Storm 20, Indiana 13
The early WNBA season can often produce some low-scoring games, which is not always a bad thing in the mind of defensive-minded coach Anne Donovan. But we're not on pace for that today; less than nine minutes in, the Storm already has 20 points. Indiana is pushing the tempo without a great deal of success, shooting 4-for-15 from the field thus far. Seattle is at 8-for-15 from the field, but Lauren Jackson - who has seven points and five rebounds - is on the bench with two early fouls.
Quick Start
Score: Storm 10, Indiana 2
The Storm has got the offense clicking in the first two and a half minutes of this game, shooting 4-for-5 from the field and grabbing an offensive rebound on the one miss. The Storm has one turnover, but has scored on five of its first six possessions to take an early 10-2 lead. Brian Winters wants a timeout for the Fever, and he'll bring Jurgita Streimikyte off the bench (try saying that three times fast).
Tully! Tully! Tully!
Score: Pregame
The most popular person in KeyArena tonight is not Coach Anne Donovan nor any member of the Storm's roster. Instead, it's former Storm guard Tully Bevilaqua, who was just presented with her championship ring by Anne Donovan at midcourt before receiving hugs from her teammates. Naturally, she also received a standing ovation from the KeyArena crowd, which has been cheering her all night long. A bone bruise - not a sprained left knee - has sent Bevilaqua to the injured list, but that's just meant more of a chance for her to say hello to her former Storm teammates and Storm fans who still love Tully. Look for more on Bevilqua's return later this week at storm.wnba.com.
Signing On
Score: Pregame
We're courtside at KeyArena for the last time in a little while. After tonight's game against the Indiana Fever, the Storm takes to the road for a four-game road trip. Storm Coach Anne Donovan would love to start said trip with a 4-1 record with a win tonight over the Fever, themselves 4-1 thus far on the season. Tully Bevilaqua is back in the house, and while she won't play because of injury, it's great to see her nonetheless. Stay with us all night long for this battle of two of the WNBA's fastest starters.
