Live From Press Row - Storm vs. Minnesota
Want to enjoy the electricity of at KeyArena even if you're thousands of miles away? storm.wnba.com's Live From Press Row 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. E-mail Kevin at web@stormbasketball. Make sure to keep coming back or refreshing so you get the latest content.
Dominant Victory for Storm
Final: Storm 90, Minnesota 62
Last year, we saw the Storm play well whenever the team had several days off to practice and refine Head Coach Brian Agler's system. Well, after three days of practice, the Storm looked terrific tonight against the Minnesota Lynx, dominating from the start to the conclusion of a 90-62 win. The Storm saw its scoring pace drop off considerably in the fourth quarter, but still shot an even 50.0 percent from the field and 8-of-14 (57.1 percent) from three-point range. The Storm had 21 assists on 26 field goals and limited Minnesota to 29.3 percent shooting.
Lauren Jackson was incredible tonight. She could have gone for 30-plus points easily if the game had been more competitive. Instead, she'll settle for a season-high 26 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field. Jackson also had a career-high six steals. The Storm's next two leading scorers were both reserves - Janell Burse with 14 and Katie Gearlds with 11. Swin Cash rounded out the double-figures scorers with 10 points, making six free throws in eight attempts. As a team, the Storm made 30 free throws and got to the line 38 tries. Lastly, we would be completely remiss if we didn't mention Sue Bird's role in leading the Storm offense. She handed out 10 assists in 24 minutes and did not commit a single turnover. That's the kind of line you want from your point guard.
The Storm will be back at it again Sunday night at Phoenix, facing the league's hottest team. The Mercury downed the Los Angeles Sparks tonight and is atop the Western Conference at 5-1. The Storm could tie for the top spot with a win. Catch all that action on FSN and 1150-AM KKNW starting at 5 p.m. Then a week from tonight the Storm will be back here at KeyArena to host Lisa Leslie, Tina Thompson, Betty Lennox, DeLisha Milton-Jones and those Sparks. Its Girls Night Out at the Key, and you'll want to be there. 
Get your tickets now!
Storm Cruising
Fourth Quarter: Storm 90, Minnesota 56
Throughout the fourth quarter, we've seen a unit of Storm reserves on the floor with Shannon Johnson and Katie Gearlds as the guards, Ashley Walker and Ashley Robinson at forward and Suzy Batkovic-Brown in the middle. This is a nice opportunity for Brian Agler to get some extended game action for his rookie (Walker) and time on the court for Batkovic-Brown as she gets comfortable in the Storm offense and shakes off the rust after taking a month off.
The fans here at Dads & Daughters Night have certainly enjoyed the complete Storm victory. During the last timeout, they got to see Doppler show off his football skills with Matt Hasselbeck. It's been a busy week for Doppler, who got to play some soccer on Wednesday when the Storm was honored by Seattle Sounders FC before the Sounders' game against D.C. United.
JB Looking Good
End Third Quarter: Storm 80, Minnesota 47
Very nice third-quarter run for Janell Burse, who has scored 14 points tonight. She's made all three of her shot attempts and shot 8-of-9 from the free throw line. She capped the period by throwing a terrific outlet pass to a streaking Shannon Johnson for a score in transition just prior to the buzzer. The toss got some appreciative cheering from Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, who is here with his young daughters on Dads & Daughters Night. The fathers of the Storm Dance Troupe performed with the youngsters during the quarter break. And, while it's not related to Father's Day, the Seattle Sounders Women are in attendance and were introduced at the timeout.
Basically, it's a laugher right now for the Storm, which holds a 33-point lead. During the third quarter, the Storm was able to control the defensive glass and keep the Lynx off the line. As a result, Minnesota had just 15 points in the period and the Storm walked its lead up past 30 points. Brian Agler should be able to give his starters a lot of rest in this final period with an eye toward another big conference game coming up Sunday in Phoenix.
Storm Trading Buckets
Third Quarter: Storm 61, Minnesota 39
The Minnesota Lynx has slowed down the Storm somewhat in the second half. The Storm turned the ball over early in the period and went nearly two and a half minutes without a score, but still has extended its lead slightly. Free throws continue to be an asset for the Storm, which has attempted three and has Janell Burse headed to the charity stripe right now. Minnesota has four team fouls with 5:03 left in the quarter.
Brian Agler was unhappy with one call that went against the Storm and drew a technical foul for the second straight game. I only remember one Agler technical all last season, so apparently he's voicing his opinion a little bit more this season.
Dominant First Half for Storm
Halftime: Storm 55, Minnesota 32
You'd be hard-pressed to play a better half of basketball than the Storm just did, closing things out with an 11-2 run to take a 23-point lead to the locker room. The Storm executed its offense at a rate you don't often see in practice going 5-on-0. The team shot 72.7 percent from the field and finished with 14 assists on 16 field goals. Add in 25 trips to the free throw line and the Storm scored 55 points on about 36 possessions - about a 152.8 Offensive Rating. Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson have teamed up for several buckets, allowing Bird to hand out eight assists and Jackson to score 21 points on 6-of-7 shooting.
The Storm has done a strong job at the defensive end as well, controlling a Minnesota team playing without leading scorer Seimone Augustus. The Lynx were able to get to the line 13 times themselves and have 10 offensive rebounds, but everything else favored the Storm. Minnesota shot 27.8 percent from the field and turned the ball over nine times. Candice Wiggins, who figured to play a critical role in Augustus' absence, picked up three early fouls and had three points on 1-of-3 shooting in the first half. Charde Houston had 11 points, but ended the first half shooting 4-of-12 from the field.
LJ on Fire
Second Quarter: Storm 43, Minnesota 29
Lauren Jackson is a bucket away from a 20-point half. She's got 18 points thus far, making five of six shot attempts from the field and all three she's tried from beyond the arc. Jackson might already have 20 if not for some atypical issues at the free throw line, where she is 5-of-8. Jackson's last score came on a beautiful high-low feed from Suzy Batkovic-Brown, who saw her first KeyArena action of the young season earlier in the period and got a very nice hand from the crowd when she checked in.
During the timeout, Herschel Bird casts the ceremonial first Storm All-Star ballot. In addition to voting at games, you can cast your vote online right now. Click here to vote for Sue, T, Swin, LJ and JB!
Second Quarter Foul Fest
Second Quarter: Storm 39, Minnesota 29
By the 6:08 mark of the second quarter, both teams were in the bonus (or in the penalty, depending on how you look at it). This hasn't been an especially physical game, but the referees have decided to try to take control of things by whistling everything. That's generally favored the Storm, which has attempted 17 free throws to nine for the Lynx. However, it has taken a lot of the flow out of the game.
Give Sue Bird a lot of credit for the Storm's efficient offense. Bird has scored just two points, but she's already handed out seven assists, just two shy of her season high. As a team, the Storm has 11 assists on 12 field goals. That's amazing ball movement and is a big reason the Storm has been scoring virtually at will.
High-Scoring Quarter
End First Quarter: Storm 31, Minnesota 19
The Storm scored a season-high 31 points in the first quarter, getting 12 from Lauren Jackson. The team shot 64.3 percent from the field, had just one turnover and got to the free throw line 13 times. That might have been the best aspect of the period. Head Coach Brian Agler mentioned getting to the line as one of his goals for the Storm to improve after a week of practice, and already the Storm has nearly matched its season high for free throws attempted
in a game, which was 16.
Minnesota has shown some offense, with Charde Houston (nine points) leading the way, so the Lynx have been able to hang around. Still, it's a 12-point advantage as we go to the second quarter.
Fun feature on StormVision during the timeout following Ashley Walker and her father TJ as they visited the Space Needle yesterday afternoon. Look for that on stormbasketball.com next week. Walker's dad is one of two of Storm players in the house. He (and Walker's mother Jackie) is sitting courtside along with Sue Bird's father Herschel.
Strong Storm Start
First Quarter: Storm 12, Minnesota 2
This is exactly the kind of start Storm Head Coach Brian Agler wanted from his team. Showing no complacency whatsoever with Seimone Augustus out of the lineup, the Storm has come out on fire on offense and ferocious on defense to run up an early double-digit lead. Lauren Jackson has eight of the Storm's 12 points, knocking down a couple of three-pointers. At the other end, the Storm has really clamped down and allowed Minnesota nothing early.
Jennifer Gillom wants an early timeout to talk things over and try to settle her young squad down.
Minnesota Sans Augustus
Pregame
Naturally, the big story before tonight's game is the absence of Seimone Augustus, the Lynx's All-Star forward who tore her left ACL Wednesday in Phoenix. This will be Minnesota's first game without Augustus, who had been leading the WNBA in scoring in the early going. Obviously, she won't be easy to replace, but Storm Head Coach Brian Agler doesn't want his team to take anything for granted.
"I've been a part of two teams who have been in a situation similar to this and won on the road against good teams," noted Agler. "My last year in San Antonio, we went into Detroit without Becky Hammon and Ruth Riley and won. Last year against Minnesota, we had just lost to Washington by 30, went in without Sheryl, without Yo and without Lauren and won. Every team responds differently. A lot of that has to do obviously with the team that's at full strength, how they focus on the game, but it also has something to do with the makeup of the people that are left on the team."
For her part, Lynx Head Coach Jennifer Gillom - a WNBA legend making her first visit to KeyArena in her new role as head coach - likes the mood of her team.
"I'm feeling good about tonight," she said. "I think they're ready. I'm seeing some players that are wanting to come out and prove themselves. They know that they played their roles when Seimone was in the game, that they had to come after her. These players are willing to step up now that they have a different role."
Signing On
Pregame
Welcome to KeyArena, which is a welcome sight for a Storm team that has played four of its first five games on the road to start the 2009 season. The Storm played five games in the first nine days of the season before having this week to practice in preparation for tonight's game. That was a valuable stretch that allowed the Storm to sharpen its offensive execution and tighten things up defensively. The Storm now gets a chance to move past the Lynx, who are in second place in the conference after starting 4-2 but lost star forward Seimone Augustus to a torn left ACL on Wednesday in Phoenix.
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