Live From Press Row - Storm vs. Los Angeles
For the Seattle Storm, Seeing is Believing. Want to enjoy the electricity of at KeyArena even if you're thousands of miles away? storm.wnba.com's Live From the Press Box in-game blog is your best bet. All night and all season long, Kevin Pelton will be bringing you pregame quotes, analysis and observations from the game. Make sure to keep coming back or refreshing so you get the latest content.
Huge Opening Win
Final: Storm 90, Los Angeles 67
Fittingly, Storm Coach Anne Donovan saved Wendy Palmer to be the last player off the court as she was removing her starters to ovations from the crowd. This night belonged to Wendy Palmer and to the Storm. We don't have official stats yet, but unofficially Palmer finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds, which is not bad for replacing an injured Janell Burse in the starting lineup. Of course, Palmer got plenty of help as the Storm scored 90 points for the seventh time in franchise history. It's far and away the biggest win on Opening Night in Storm history as well. Basically, this game was the exact opposite of last year's opener against the Sparks. It was great fun for all of us and to think - we still have 16 of these left!
Leslie's Night Ends Early
Fourth Quarter: Storm 82, Los Angeles 65
Lisa Leslie has headed to the bench for the Sparks after picking up her sixth foul on - what else? - a Lauren Jackson three-point play. With the Storm leading by 17 and 2:48 to go, Anne Donovan is taking advantage of the opportunity to get her starters out one-by-one.
Jackson Balling
Fourth Quarter: Storm 75, Los Angeles 58
Despite a slow start because of foul trouble, Lauren Jackson has put together a typical Lauren Jackson game. She leads the Storm with 20 points and has shot 7-for-9 from the field (unofficially), making both of her 3-point attempts. It's a far cry from a year ago today against the Sparks on Opening Night, when Jackson shot 2-for-13 from 3-point range and had her streak of double-figure scoring snapped. The outcome looks like it will be very different as well. Storm by 17 with a little under six minutes to play.
Castro Marques Injured
Fourth Quarter: Storm 69, Los Angeles 53
Iziane Castro Marques went down during the Sparks last possession holding her head in the key near the Sparks basket. She remained down as Betty Lennox hit a jumper and the Sparks took the ball back, working it up to Lisa Leslie, who made a move to the basket before being fouled by Wendy Palmer to stop play. Castro Marques eventually sat up with a smile on her face, but looked dazed. She was replaced in the lineup by Tanisha Wright.
No Quit in Leslie
End Third Quarter: Storm 64, Los Angeles 51
Lisa Leslie really got going during the last five minutes or so of the third quarter, scoring 12 of her game-high 19 points to keep the Sparks within striking distance through three quarters. Anne Donovan is going back to her starters to start the fourth quarter, clearly with the intent of putting this game away. We'll see if the Storm is equal to the task.
We mentioned earlier that WNBA President Donna Orender is in town tonight, and she met with the media before the game. Orender is clearly very excited as this 10th Anniversary season gets underway.
"I'm looking to see the enthusiasm I'm seeing," Orender said of her early-season trip around the WNBA. "Yesterday in Sacramento, I was in the parking lot at 11 a.m. and there was lots of traffic."
Orender joked about the possibility of the Chicago Sky, victorious in yesterday's first game in franchise history against the Charlotte Sting, going undefeated and promised a big announcement Monday about new corporate partners. We're working on a postgame interview with Orender for this week's edition of StormCast - look for that tomorrow.
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Storm Still Surging
Third Quarter: Storm 62, Los Angeles 45
Here's something interesting to watch this season. With only one mandatory timeout in the first and third quarters, if that timeout is called early - as it was here by the Sparks - there is a really long stretch of basketball without a break. I'm not sure what kind of effect that will have. Nearly a spectacular play a moment ago as Lisa Leslie intercepted an inbounds pass and took off the other direction on an uncontested fast break. Leslie looked to be thinking dunk, but she didn't have quite enough lift and settled for a little finger roll at the rim.
Second Half Starts Strong
Third Quarter: Storm 48, Los Angeles 32
Can't beat the start the Storm has had to the second half, going on a 7-0 run over the first 1:44 to get the KeyArena crowd on its feet and force Joe Bryant to take a quick timeout. The Storm is really getting offense from its defense right now, stopping the Sparks defensively - with blocks by both Lauren Jackson and Wendy Palmer thus far in the second half - and turning tthat into points on the other end. Wendy Palmer has been very big, hitting a second-chance layup in the paint and then a 3-pointer trailing in transition to give her a game-high 12 points.
Storm by Nine at the Half
Halftime: Storm 41, Los Angeles 32
After a lengthy final 0.5 seconds as both teams took timeouts before the last play of the half, the Storm takes a nine-point lead to halftime. The story of the first half had to be fouls - the teams were whistled for a combined 25 fouls and shot a combined 30 free throws, accounting for about a third of the first-half scoring. Lauren Jackson and Lisa Leslie both spent the majority of the second quarter watching from their respective benches. Sue Bird and Iziane Castro Marques stepped up for the Storm, combining for 19 points. Bird was very aggressive, playing like Anne Donovan wants her to this season. Mwadi Mabika's 12 points led the Sparks. She looked to be in midseason form, which is bad news for the Western Conference.
Storm Getting Defensive
Second Quarter: Storm 37, Los Angeles 30
A big problem for the Storm last season was their inability to generate very many steals defensively. I don't have exact numbers tonight because the stats system is a bit on the fritz here at KeyArena, but I do know L.A. has eight turnovers and a good number of those have been Storm steals that have turned into easy buckets at the other end. That's a key to why the Storm leads 37-30 with Tanisha Wright headed to the free-throw line and 1:52 left in the half.
Really nice play a couple minutes ago that showed the value of Wendy Palmer. Palmer was playing defense and she was talking defensively in the middle of the floor, letting her teammates know what the Sparks were doing. They passed it in to Palmer's opposite number, French rookie Emmeline N'Dongue, and Palmer stepped up to meet N'Dongue and contest her shot, which was off. Then Palmer showed uncommon explosion for a player with as much experience as she has, grabbing the rebound and moving the ball upcourt. That's awesome.
Three Fouls For LJ
Second Quarter: Storm 29, Los Angeles 24
Just as Lauren Jackson was beginning to get going, scoring a three-point play over Lisa Leslie to give her seven points on the evening, she's drawn her third foul and is likely done for the half. LJ did not like the call and there's been a fair bit of griping on both sides. Our crew - the aforementioned Kurt Walker, Tina Napier and Shelley Nakasone - has been calling it very tight, with a combined 17 fouls through just over 14 minutes of action. I don't think that favors either side.
The Storm Dance Troupe takes to the floor for the first time this season wearing Be Smart-Be Fit-Be Yourself t-shirts, which is a great opportunity for me to remind you that the Be Fit Tour will visit Seattle next weekend as part of the Northwest Folklife Festival, set up on KeyArena's West Plaza Saturday and Sunday. Players will be in attendance from 5-6 p.m. on both days. Be sure to check it out!
First Quarter Lead in Franchise History
End First Quarter: Storm 18, Los Angeles 16
Naturally, this being the first quarter in regular-season Storm history, it's also the first lead ever after one quarter. The lead was provided by two late Tiffani Johnson free throws and a nice defensive collapse on a driving Temeka Johnson (that's too many T. Johnsons). Anne Donovan went to an all-reserve lineup to end the first quarter and I really liked the defense provided by Tanisha Wright, who was defending the 5-3 Johnson for a stretch. Backup posts Johnson and Kaayla Chones did a solid job with more early playing time than expected.
One of my projects for this year is to figure out a way to get a photo of Betty Lennox's world-famous brother Clarence for that night's Live From Press Row, both so fans who aren't at KeyArena can get a taste of his sartorial stylings and so we can have an archive and be sure he never wears the same suit twice. Tonight, Clarence is wearing a beige suit and hat set off with what appears to be a salmon-colored shirt and a beige and green striped tie.
Foul Trouble Early
First Quarter: Storm 12, Los Angeles 7
I mentioned in the preview of tonight's game that Lauren Jackson and Lisa Leslie almost never guard each other, as I thought they would tonight. Turns out I was half-right. Jessica Moore defended Jackson in the early going, though Jackson did defend Leslie. The result - two early fouls for Jackson, whose first quarter is over. Referee Kurt Walker did not exactly endear himself to the KeyArena crowd by calling Jackson's second foul and giving Leslie a three-point play. He got a number of comments from the fans while standing in front of me before the free throw, most of them centering on his close-cropped haircut. Wendy Palmer moved over and, despite giving up three inches to Leslie, did a fine job on her. The Storm leads by five despite some trouble with turnovers - four of them so far, one by each member of the starting lineup besides Sue Bird.
Addition: I remembered Lisa Leslie having early foul trouble in last year's opener and wanted to go look it up. She picked up three fouls in the first 10 minutes, but was left in the game by then-Sparks Coach Henry Bibby. Leslie and the Sparks overcame it to win.
Opening Night Festivities
Pregame
The entire Storm roster broke a pregame huddle and headed into the stands, where they went down the aisles as they were announced by new PA Announcer Matt Pitman. Lucky fans got T-shirts and balls from the players as they went by. This crowd is a bit shy of the lower-bowl sellout we were hoping for, but still very strong and extremely long. You remember that this crowd is loud, of course, but when you hear it for the first time in a while sitting right down on the court, the experience is visceral. I can't hear myself think.
And Your Visiting Lineup Is ...
Pregame
In a sentence, nothing like what I thought it would be. Both Moores, Jessica and Tamara, start for the Sparks, in place of Doneeka Hodges-Lewis and Christi Thomas, who join Lisa Willis and Murriel Page as L.A.'s key reserves. The Moores are joined by newcomer Temeka Johnson and holdovers Lisa Leslie and Mwadi Mabika.
Last-Minute Lineup Intrigue
Pregame
Asked before tonight's game by the media what his starting lineup is, Sparks Coach Joe Bryant replied, "undecided." This was not just a story from the media; Bill Olden, who runs the Storm (and Sonics) stats crew, asked assistant Michael Abraham for the lineup at about the same time and also received word that there is none. So when the starting lineups are announced before tonight's game, they'll be a surprise for almost everyone. Chamique Holdsclaw will not be in the lineup, as she is not in the building debate after various shifts in her potential availability.
Chones, Lennox Available
Pregame
Storm guard Betty Lennox is expected to get the start tonight despite whiplash she suffered in a car accident on Friday night.
"She's not 100%, but she's ready to go," said Storm Coach Anne Donovan.
Donovan also said she won't hesitate to use new reserve center Kaayla Chones, and in fact expects to use Chones despite the fact that she has been in Seattle only a day.
"She remembers a few of the plays," joked Donovan. "We'll call those."
Signing On
Pregame
Can it really be Opening Night already? Well, the Los Angeles Sparks are in the house, the fans are filing in and a large media contingent is here. Also in the house - WNBA President Donna Orender. After a month-long training camp, the Storm is ready (Janell Burse's injury excepted). I'm ready. Hopefully, you're ready. The 2006 Seattle Storm. Let's go.
