Live From Press Row - Storm vs. Sacramento
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.
Storm Takes Another at Key
Final: Storm 66, Sacramento 55
KeyArena continues to be a house of horrors for opposing teams. The Storm's win over the Sacramento Monarchs improved the team to 5-0 at home, and was the 15th straight Storm regular-season win at the Key, a streak that dates back all the way to last June. Tonight, the Storm took control early, extended the lead in the second quarter and never faced a real serious threat during the second half despite Sacramento's best efforts to rally.
What can you say about the way Swin Cash is playing right now? The beneficial effect of her offseason back surgery has been obvious all season, and right now Cash is completely locked in. She's averaging 17.7 points over the last three games and has led (or co-led) the Storm in scoring all three of those games. Cash has relieved a lot of the scoring pressure on Lauren Jackson, who had a fairly quiet night (11 points, four blocks), focusing on the defensive end and getting some extra rest when she was in foul trouble. The other three Storm starters and reserve Janell Burse scored at least seven points in a balanced attack. Still, the story of the night was once again defense. The Monarchs shot 35.5 percent from the field, had 17 turnovers, were limited to two three-pointers and perhaps most importantly got few second chances. The league's best offensive rebounding team was held to just 10 offensive boards. Rebounding was a team effort too - all five starters had either four or five rebounds.
The Storm will have a couple days off for practice before returning to the Key on Sunday to host the Chicago Sky. The Storm will be looking to avenge a 64-57 loss last month in Chicago against a team that features impressive young talent headlined by WNBA All-Star Candice Dupree and rising star Jia Perkins. Join us for that game by 
getting your tickets now and be here as the Storm looks to extend the home winning streak!
Getting Some Run
Fourth Quarter: Storm 64, Sacramento 48
The nice thing about the Storm maintaining a comfortable - though in no way certain - lead during the second half of tonight's game has been the ability to use a number of different players. Suzy Batkovic-Brown got to play some extended minutes early in this quarter, and now Ashley Robinson will get some run. Unfortunately, rookie Ashley Walker won't have the opportunity to play. She's missing her second straight game with an injury to her right big toe. It's believed to be an injury of the sesamoid bone on her first metatarsal. Before the game, Brian Agler shed some more light on the timetable, saying Walker will likely be sidelined at least the next seven to 10 days, depending on how her toe responds to rest.
During the timeout, Sheri Sam was introduced to the crowd, getting a very nice hand from the fans.
Battle of Attrition
Fourth Quarter: Storm 59, Sacramento 41
The Storm is experiencing another scoring drought to start the fourth quarter, but the Monarchs have been unable to make up any ground because of excellent Storm defense. Four and a half minutes into the period, our score for the quarter is 2-2. The Monarchs continue to shoot 30.3 percent from the field, and the Storm has also done a terrific job of holding them at the bay beyond the three-point line. Sacramento is 1-of-6 from downtown.
Our 10th Anniversary celebration tonight was highlighted by the announcement of the Storm All-Decade Team, but we've also got a pretty good group of members of the 2004 WNBA champions in the house tonight. Sacramento Head Coach Jenny Boucek was an assistant on that squad, and a player from that team - Sheri Sam - is watching tonight as a guest of close friend Shannon Johnson. I had a chance to catch up with Sam at halftime, and look for that interview on stormbasketball.com early next week.
Bench Production
End Third Quarter: Storm 57, Sacramento 39
Late in the third quarter, Lauren Jackson left the game with four personal fouls. Ordinarily, Brian Agler might have kept his superstar in the game, but with the Storm having a bit of a cushion, he used the opportunity to get Jackson some rest. Lo and behold, Sacramento made up no ground at all and still trails by 18 heading to the fourth quarter. That's a testament to the performance of the Storm bench, which has been very productive tonight. Janell Burse has nine points, Katie Gearlds has five to go along with excellent defense tonight and Shannon Johnson has provided a steady hand at the point. Now we're getting a look at Suzy Batkovic-Brown, who checked in just before the end of the third and will start the fourth on the floor.
During the quarter break, Carter Subaru presented the 3s for Trees Shootout. The competitors used special oatmeal and green basketballs the WNBA is using around the league during this, WNBA Green Week. The Storm is helping kick things off with tonight's Go Green Night presented by Seattle City Light, our third annual green celebration.
Storm Doing the Job on the Glass
Third Quarter: Storm 47, Sacramento 33
Before this game, we highlighted the matchup on the defensive glass against the league's best offensive rebounding team, the Monarchs. Sacramento came in rebounding more than 40 percent of its own missed shots, but so far tonight has six offensive rebounds in 22 opportunities, a 27.3 percent rate that is essentially right on league average. Because the Monarchs are not the kind of team that puts points on the board in a hurry, they rely on these second chances, and the Storm has done an excellent job of taking them away tonight.
You could say, on Go Green Night, that the Storm is keeping Sacramento from recycling its shots.
Storm Leads by Double-Figures at the Break
Halftime: Storm 38, Sacramento 28
The Storm's defense had a very brief unexpected letdown where Sacramento went on a run to get back within eight, but consecutive buckets allowed Seattle to take a 10-point lead to the locker room. The Monarchs are shooting just 35.3 percent from the field and have been outscored 11-3 at the free throw line. The only area where the Storm has hurt itself is with turnovers - 10 of them in all. Swin Cash has been terrific for the Storm, scoring 12 points and making all six of her attempts from the charity stripe.
Storm All-Decade Team
Second Quarter: Storm 31, Sacramento 16
During the timeout, the Storm announced via StormVision the 10 players you, the fans, voted to the Seattle Storm All-Decade Team. Congrats to Adia Barnes, Tully Bevilaqua, Sue Bird, Janell Burse, Swin Cash, Iziane Castro Marques, Simone Edwards, Lauren Jackson, Betty Lennox and Kamila Vodichkova. For more on the Storm All-Decade Team, which will be honored on 10th Anniversary Night on Aug. 1 when the Storm faces San Antonio, check out
our All-Decade Team page. Also be sure to check out
the video we put together highlighting the members of the Storm All-Decade Team.
Storm on the Run
Second Quarter: Storm 31, Sacramento 15
On a Nicole Powell three-pointer, the Monarchs got back within four. The Storm responded beautifully, getting back-to-back three-pointers from Katie Gearlds and Lauren Jackson. That kicked off a 12-0 run that has given the Storm its largest lead of the night at 16 points.
We've got a large contingent of Sacramento fans in the house. Monarchs Season Ticket Holders have made their annual trip together to watch this game at KeyArena and give the visitors one large rooting contingent. However, it was another visitor that got introduced on StormVision during the timeout. Alex Chambers is a Phoenix Mercury fan who is visiting all 13 WNBA arenas this season as part of his "13 Teams, One Journey" trip. Shellie Hart interviewed Chambers during the timeout, and I had a chance to chat with him before the game.
"I'm really a big supporter of women's basketball and the WNBA," Chambers told me. "If I can be a positive reflection of the league and show a couple of people that this is worth it, that the game more than entertaining and inspiring, great. Now that I'm in Seattle, you've got amazing players - Sue Bird and LJ, of course. Swin Cash, who has just been a monster the last couple of games, especially in points. You've got some other good players - Pee Wee's a veteran player, good to see her. I've been fortunate to get to some really good games."
Look for the complete interview tomorrow on StormTracker.
Bird Supports Livestrong
End First Quarter: Storm 18, Sacramento 12
Despite the offense slowing down late in the first quarter - which, coincidentally or not, came about the same time that rookie Courtney Paris entered for the Monarchs - the Storm still takes a six-point advantage to the second quarter after a strong defensive effort in the first period.
If you're watching this one on ESPN2, do not adjust your TV screen: That is the color of Sue Bird's shoes. If you're not watching, they're a bright yellow, sort of along the lines of The Man With the Yellow Hat from Curious George. Camille Little has a lot of yellow on her own shoes, but Bird's are all yellow, and it's for a good cause. The shoes are the special LIVESTRONG Nike Zoom Soldier III, and Bird wearing them is timed with Lance Armstrong riding in the Tour de France as part of the "It's About You" campaign working to fight cancer.
Storm Sharp Early
First Quarter: Storm 14, Sacramento 6
It took a minute - maybe two - but the Storm got going in a big way early in this game. Seattle ran off eight straight points after the Monarchs scored the first two of the game and now leads 14-6 at our first timeout. Give a lot of credit to Swin Cash for getting the Storm going. She had a terrific three-point play and earned another trip to the free-throw line in transition and has seven points to outscore the Monarchs all by herself so far. Cash is really playing at a very high level right now.
It was also nice to see Camille Little get the Storm on the scoreboard by making a three-pointer. It's her first of the season in seven attempts. Last year, Little shot 36.0 percent from beyond the arc.
Keep an Eye on the Glass
Pregame
We start our analysis tonight with a key to this game - the matchup on the glass. The Storm won the first two games despite surrendering 29 offensive rebounds to the Monarchs. They're hardly the only team to fall victim; as we reported in Insider Preview this morning, Sacramento's current offensive rebound percentage would be a WNBA record. However, the Storm is coming off one of the best rebounding games in franchise history, dominating San Antonio 41-17 on the glass in Tuesday's win. Certainly, Storm Head Coach Brian Agler isn't expecting a repeat of that effort, but he's hoping the Storm can be more even on the boards than in the first two games of the season.
"After the first two games we played them, it took us nine more games to get back on the positive rebounding side," Agler said before the game. "That's how much they dominated the boards against us. That is definitely going to be a factor. That is a big part of their offense. We have to get our share of rebounds, especially at the defensive end."
Signing On
Pregame
Welcome to KeyArena, where the Seattle Storm is back in action tonight to host the Sacramento Monarchs. Not only is it Go Green Night, meaning the annual oddity of seeing the Storm wear its green road jerseys at home, but this game is also nationally televised on ESPN2. The Monarchs are making their second and final visit of the season to Seattle, and though it's only July 9, the Storm has a chance to win the season series with a victory tonight after sweeping the first two games of the regular season. Both of those were competitive, however, and we expect something similar tonight. Stay tuned for the latest from the Key all night long.
