Live From Press Row - Storm vs. Minnesota
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Storm Gets Needed Win
Final: Storm 90, Minnesota 76
Before tonight's game, Anne Donovan talked about why this game was important for her Storm team.
"It's a big game for a lot of reasons," said Donovan. "Because it is Minnesota, it's a conference opponent. Because we have lost three in a row and we're below .500. We're at home and we've got to relish and take advantage of these opportunities and last time we were at home we didn't do that. There's a lot of reasons to be motivated."
The Storm responded with a very solid effort tonight in a 14-point win. The Storm shot 52.2% from the field and had all five starters score double-figures, led by the 30 points and nine rebounds of Lauren Jackson. Returning from illness, Jackson shot 12-for-15 from the field. Overall, the Storm's defense wasn't great, but Seattle held the Lynx to 13 third-quarter points and shut down Seimone Augustus, who finished with 13 points - just two in the second half - and shot 5-for-17 from the field.
One of the reasons this game was important is because the schedule is getting tough. The Storm will fly out tomorrow for a road trip that consists of back-to-back games at Chicago and Indiana on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Sky is hot right now, while the Fever is one of the favorites to contend for the WNBA title. On Friday, it's back at KeyArena to take on the Houston Comets. It's Dads and Daughters Night with Father's Day coming up next Sunday, so 
get your tickets now for that game!
Lynx Staying After It
Fourth Quarter: Storm 86, Minnesota 70
It's been a rough go for the Lynx in the early going. Minnesota has played a league-high 10 games, started 0-7 and has four rookies in the rotation. I asked Lynx Coach Don Zierden before the game if he's been having any fun in his first season coaching in the WNBA after a lengthy career as an assistant in the NBA (primarily for the Timberwolves).
"The record obviously has been tough," said Zierden, "but it has been fun coaching these ladies."
Zierden pointed out that he hasn't seen the team quit as of yet, which would be reason for concern as a coach. I think things are going to get even more fun for Zierden and the Lynx as this season goes on. There's obvious talent on the roster. It's just a matter of adding some on-court chemistry and some experience.
I should definitely make note of an important birthday that was celebrated on StormVision - Clarence Lennox. Happy Birthday to, as described by Matt Pitman, "the WNBA's best-dressed fan." Clarence is decked out as usual tonight in black and pink - a pink shirt, tie, hat and shoes with a black vest and black pants. That's a new favorite amongst his many impressive outfits.
LJ Feeling It
Fourth Quarter: Storm 79, Minnesota 63
Huge night for Lauren Jackson, who has hit the 30-point mark for the 10th time in her WNBA career and the second time this season. How good is LJ feeling? Well, it didn't count (she was called for traveling), but Jackson even threw in a hook shot from the right baseline. If she starts hitting that shot consistently ... well, I don't know if she can get much better.
The Storm still has things well in hand, but Svetlana Abrosimova - back after missing much of the second and third quarters after that collision with Lauren Jackson - has led a Minnesota run to get within 16 and force Anne Donovan to take a timeout. Abrosimova has 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting tonight, a breakout game for her.
All Storm in Third Quarter
End Third Quarter: Storm 74, Minnesota 55
The Storm outscored Minnesota 23-13 in the third period to push the lead to 19 points with 10 minutes left to play and a good time is being had by everyone on Girls Night Out. Janell Burse was the star of the quarter, scoring 10 points on 5-for-6 shooting. Lauren Jackson added nine points. She's got 25 for the game on 10-for-13 from the field. Sue Bird has a season-high eight assists and needs three points to give us the entire Storm starting lineup in double-figures.
Storm Putting Hammer Down
Third Quarter: Storm 66, Minnesota 49
A 10-3 lead has produced the Storm's largest lead of this game at 17 points with 3:35 left in the third quarter. With a strong KeyArena crowd getting going, Don Zierden had little choice but to take a timeout to quiet things down. The Storm has done a brilliant job of defending the WNBA's leading scorer, Seimone Augustus. Augustus has not scored in this quarter, has not hit a field goal since the 9:45 mark of the second quarter and is 4-for-15 from the field tonight.
Izi Out
Third Quarter: Storm 60, Minnesota 46
After a solid start to the second half, the Storm takes a timeout to get Iziane Castro Marques out of the game. She was stuck at the baseline on the other end of the floor as the Storm played 4-on-5 on offense. Fortunately, it looks like Izi just had the wind knocked out of her and she should be fine. Still, Katie Gearlds will check in at the three. For Minnesota, Svetlana Abrosimova remains back in the locker room.
All-Star voting continues to go here at KeyArena and online. Click here to cast your vote for the Storm's starters - making sure to write in Iziane Castro Marques - and remember that you can vote daily via storm.wnba.com.
Storm Up Nine at the Half
Halftime: Storm 51, Minnesota 42
The Storm goes to the half leading by nine after shooting 55.6% from the field in the first two quarters. Lauren Jackson leads the way with 16 points and six rebounds, but four players have at least seven points. Seimone Augustus has 11 for the Lynx. Nicole Ohlde had eight, but ended the first half on the bench with three fouls.
One slight cause for concern is that the Storm's focus seemed to wane slightly over the last couple of minutes of the first half. The Lynx go to the locker room feeling better about themselves after a 7-1 run to end the half got them within nine points.
Good news: Svetlana Abrosimova returned to the game late in the first half after her collision with Jackson. Bad news: A cut reopened on Abrosimova's forehead after she hit a three-pointer from the left wing, sending her back to the locker room. We'll see if she is able to play after halftime.
Now, Storm on the Run
Second Quarter: Storm 46, Minnesota 32
This has been a first half filled with runs, and the latest one has been all Storm. Seattle has scored the last 14 points to unbreak what had been a tie game a little over three minutes ago. The Storm has scored on six of its last seven possessions and Lauren Jackson (now with 14 points and six boards) has it all rolling. Meanwhile, Minnesota has not kept up the offense with Seimone Augustus getting a breather.
Tonight is Lynx rookie Coach Don Zierden's first in-person look at LJ. Before the game, he talked about how impressed he had been in scouting Jackson prior to this game. I don't think anything that has happened in this game has changed his mind.
LJ Looking Good
Second Quarter: Storm 39, Minnesota 32
Okay, I think we can stop worrying about Lauren Jackson's condition. She's got nine points and five rebounds and has hit four of her five shot attempts thus far, including some difficult turnarounds. Both teams assigned rookies to defend All-Stars early in this quarter, with Katherin Ress trying to guard Jackson and Katie Gearlds defending Seimone Augustus. Gearlds did a very solid job. Augustus scored one bucket in that span, but on a very difficult shot.
Is it wrong that every time I hear the name of Lynx reserve Tiffany Stansbury, I think of Saved by the Bell? Let me explain. There was one episode where the gang was looking for colleges and, instead of Stanford, the academic school in California was named "Stansbury." For the record, Stansbury was interested in Slater and Zach but not the more obvious pick, Jessie, leading to James impersonating a Harvard recruiter. You remember that, right? Okay, maybe it's just me.
High-Scoring Quarter
End First Quarter: Storm 26, Minnesota 26
A wild first quarter ends with the two teams tied at 26 apiece, but it was a wild way to get there, with the Storm scoring the first seven points. Later, Minnesota had a 15-1 run to take the lead, but the Storm finished the period on an 8-2 mini-run. Not a lot of defense in the period, as the Storm shot 61.1% from the field and Minnesota 62.5%. Betty Lennox with seven points on 3-for-5 shooting for the Storm, while Seimone Augustus leads the Lynx with eight, including a pair of triples.
Lauren Jackson looks plenty healthy. She's got five points and four rebounds and has made two of her three shot attempts. Sue Bird, meanwhile, has remained aggressive and has four points and a pair of assists.
Storm Starts on Fire
First Quarter: Storm 16, Minnesota 15
I wrote the
Insider Preview for this game early yesterday afternoon and focused on the Lynx's struggling defense. Then Minnesota lost 90-87 at L.A. and I found myself wishing I had looked more at the Lynx's defense. The Storm scored on seven of its first eight possessions to take an early 15-7 lead. Since then, however, Minnesota has found its offense for an 8-1 run to get within one point.
Big collision a moment ago between Lauren Jackson and Svetlana Abrosimova. Abrosimova was driving the baseline and pulled up, but Jackson was unable to react and the back of Abrosimova's head hit Jackson's chin. Both players were down for some time. Abrosimova was able to stay in the game to shoot two free throws, but headed to the locker room immediately afterwards. Jackson checked out of the game, though it appears she's feeling okay. It looks in the early going like Anne Donovan will be rotating a lot in the post given that Lauren Jackson is coming back from missing a week due to illness and Wendy Palmer's stamina is still limited despite the 31 minutes she played in Sacramento.
A Couple of Presentations
Pregame
Time to do a little celebrating before tonight's game gets underway. First, Storm centers Janell Burse and Ashley Robinson were presented by Seattle Sounders forward Craig Tomlinson with a trophy commemorating
the Storm's victory over the Sounders in the "Fuel the Dream" Summer Challenge. Storm fans donated 2,122 pounds of food and $2,478.34 at last Saturday's game against San Antonio, surpassing the 1,282 pounds of food and $469.36 collected by the Sounders at their game the same night.
Shortly after that, Wendy Palmer was presented the game ball from last Saturday's game. Palmer scored her 3,000th career point against the Silver Stars a week ago, becoming the 16th player in WNBA history to reach the milestone. I have a story to go with this. Last Monday, Jayda Evans of the Seattle Times and I interviewed Wendy about hitting 3,000, amongst other topics, and Jayda asked whether she had gotten the basketball from the game. Wendy was in the dark at that point, but I actually knew, having seen the ball in the office. I kept quiet - and hopefully Wendy got a pleasant surprise tonight.
Signing On
Pregame
Welcome back to KeyArena, where the Seattle Storm returns after a week absence. The Minnesota Lynx are in town as the Storm looks to snap a three-game losing streak that has Seattle below .500 for the season. The good news is the Storm will have Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson both in the lineup (more on that in a moment). Bird has been bothered by swelling in her left knee, though it has yet to keep her out of a game, while Jackson missed Thursday's narrow loss in Sacramento due to an illness.
