Live From Press Row - Storm vs. Detroit
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.
Impressive in Defeat
Final: Detroit 77, Storm 67
No shame in defeat tonight for the Storm, who fought valiantly during the second half despite little or no depth, down to seven players in the fourth quarter. Still, Seattle got as close as five before falling by 10, and the crowd offers a standing ovation at the buzzer. It is so very well deserved tonight.
Career highs for both Tiffani Johnson, whose 15 points on 5-for-9 shooting were the best of her career, and Ashley Robinson, who grabbed 13 rebounds after never before having double-figures on the glass in her career. These are players who are being asked to do much more than they ever have before, and you've got to give them tremendous credit for stepping up. On the Detroit side, Cheryl Ford and Deanna Nolan were just too much. Ford had 18 points and 18 rebounds, while Nolan scored 23 points on 8-for-13 shooting
The Storm has a day off to regroup before returning here Sunday to face the Los Angeles Sparks. Tickets are going fast, so be sure to get yours now!
Shock Imposes Will
Fourth Quarter: Detroit 68, Storm 59
After Ashley Robinson hit a long two-pointer to beat the shot-clock buzzer (we thought it was a 3 live, which would have been her second of the season), all things looked possible as the Storm climbed within five. But Detroit has responded with a Swin Cash score, and a Cheryl Ford layup in transition after a Sue Bird turnover to get the lead back up to nine with 2:57 left. Fatigue has been the Storm's opponent throughout the second half, and now add the clock to that.
Do You Believe?
Fourth Quarter: Detroit 60, Storm 54
There is no quit in this Seattle Storm ballclub, none at all. An Iziane Castro Marques layup in transition makes it a six-point game with 6:52 left and draws a Bill Laimbeer timeout. Ashley Robinson has put her stamp on this game tonight, grabbing a career-high 12 rebounds in just 22 minutes of action.
The energy in this arena right now is unbelievable. I haven't mentioned it yet, but the crowd is simply full of signs supporting the Storm after last week's sale of the Sonics and Storm to a new ownership group. Save Our Sonics & Storm has contributed the majority of them, with slogans like "Keep the Storm in Seattle" and "Keep Our Teams Here." There are T-shirts and homemade signs and a great deal of noise. If anyone questions what this team and the Sonics mean to the city of Seattle, they need to have the opportunity to experience what we're experiencing right now inside the Key.
Getting Ugly
End Third Quarter: Detroit 58, Storm 50
Because of all of their injuries, the Storm has had no choice but to ugly up this game. Just 23 points in the third quarter, as Detroit barely outscored the Storm 12-11. Deanna Nolan did not score in the period, while Cheryl Ford had just one point. The Storm's defensive intensity and their ability to stay in this game while undermanned (or is it underwomaned?) is inspiring.
Injuries Continue Mounting
Third Quarter: Detroit 56, Storm 48
Unfortunate scene at KeyArena a moment ago as Cisti Greenwalt joined the ranks of the Storm's M*A*S*H unit. Greenwalt, making her first appearance since re-signing with the Storm as an injury replacement on Tuesday, was defending Kara Braxton in the left block and went down because of contact. I'm not sure from seeing the replay just once and watching the play whether Greenwalt hit her head on the ground on her way down or was accidentally kicked in the head, but she appeared dazed as she stayed down for an extended period. A stretcher and headboard were brought out, but Greenwalt was able to walk off the court with assistance from the Storm's training staff. That was great to see.
Betty Lennox is also on the bench, her right knee apparently too bothersome to continue. That leaves the Storm with just seven players available. This is incredible adversity.
How to Replace LJ?
Third Quarter: Detroit 50, Storm 39
When Lauren Jackson left the game with 4:32 left in the first half, the Storm trailed by just two, 31-29. Since then, Detroit is on a 19-10 run. The Storm has not scored a field goal since the 2:37 mark of the first half and has surrendered the first four points of the second half to the Shock, which now has its largest lead at 11 points. Anne Donovan takes timeout and will try to find a way to get her team going with its fourth and fifth post players starting the second half.
Shocking Offense
Halftime: Detroit 46, Storm 39
For all of Detroit's obvious talent, the Shock has a below-average offense in terms of points scored per 100 possessions. Tonight, however, Detroit has exploded for 46 points on 47.1% shooting. It's primarily come from two players, Deanna Noland and Cheryl Ford, who have combined for 36 points on 11-for-17 shooting (8-for-8 from the free-throw line). Nolan isn't a high-percentage shooter, but she's as streaky as anyone around and she's going really quite well thus far. On the Storm side, no players are in double-figures, and the team is feeling the absence of Lauren Jackson, who played just 10 minutes. Her status remains uncertain for the second half.
Halftime has gone to the dogs - literally - as the Jet City Jumpers showcase their racing dogs competing in Flyball. What is Flyball? From the Jumpers Web site: "Flyball competition consists of races between two teams of four dogs each, racing side by side over a 51 foot long course. Each team's racing lane consists of 4 jumps spaced at 10 foot intervals."
All I know is a lot of fun for this big crowd that has packed the Key on Girls Night Out.
Ford Tough
Second Quarter: Detroit 35, Storm 34
Asked about the MVP race before tonight's game, Detroit Coach Bill Laimbeer pointed out that he prefers to talk about his own players and then proceeded to extol the virtues of his team's candidate, Cheryl Ford. Ford is averaging 14.4 points and a league-best 11.5 rebounds per game, shooting 51.7% from the field. She's been awesome tonight, putting up 13 points on 5-for-8 shooting to go with seven rebounds. Ford isn't the biggest players in the league - she runs only about 6-3 - but she is incredibly strong and has a great nose for the basketball.
Defending Ford is even more difficult because Lauren Jackson is out of the game right now. She looked to be in a great deal of pain before heading to the bench a couple of minutes ago, and we'll see what - if anything - she has left the rest of the way.
Shock Running and Gunning
Second Quarter: Detroit 31, Storm 27
After the Storm took a 27-26 lead a moment ago, Detroit has the last five points to take its largest lead of the game. The pace has gotten so fast as to be sloppy in the last couple of minutes, with some bad shots on both sides. In the half-court, the Shock is reliant right now on Storm mistakes in the zone - Seattle rarely plays zone and is not executing particularly well right now - offensive rebounds and fouls. Otherwise, Detroit has struggled at times to score in their sets.
All Square After One
End First Quarter: Storm 23, Detroit 23
Great first quarter of basketball capped by a final seven seconds where Sue Bird scored for the Storm and Deanna Nolan answered with a pull-up 3 just before the buzzer to tie the game at 23. The one issue for the Storm right now has been foul trouble - two apiece in the first quarter for posts Tiffani Johnson and Ashley Robinson. Still, I like the energy the bench has brought into the game. Tanisha Wright and Edwige Lawson-Wade both have a bucket and Barbara Turner have been all over the boards.
Quick Start
First Quarter: Storm 11, Detroit 8
Fast pace so far between teams who love to get out and get in transition. And it's been a good start for the Storm, which has shot 50% from the field to take an early three-point lead. I like the energy provided by Tiffani Johnson, who has been playing good interior defense and has four points and three rebounds in the early going. Betty Lennox, going shot-for-shot with Detroit All-Star Deanna Nolan and scoring four early points.
Signing On
Pregame
The Seattle Storm returns home to KeyArena after one of the best road trips in franchise history. With wins in the last three games of a four-game road trip, the Storm put itself 2.5 games up in the battle for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Now, having tied the franchise record for road wins, the Storm must reclaim KeyArena. That starts tonight as the Detroit Shock, which owns the WNBA's third-best record and is battling Connecticut for the top seed in the East, come to town. It should be a great battle between two of the last three WNBA Champions, so stay with us all night long.
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