Live From Press Row - Storm vs. Indiana
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Great Win for Storm
Final: Storm 74, Indiana 60
Midway through the second quarter, the Storm trailed 22-16 and had offered little sign of a pending breakout. Instead, the Storm had the Indiana Fever exactly where it wanted them, outscoring Indiana 32-9 over a little more than a quarter of time to pull away and cruise to a 74-60 win over the team with the WNBA's best record. The Storm parlayed the momentum of Tuesday's win over Detroit into another strong performance at both ends and what might be the team's best win of the year.
You don't get much more balanced than the Storm tonight - six players in double-figures, none with more than the 16 points of Sue Bird. On a night where Lauren Jackson struggled a bit with her sore back, the Indiana defense and foul trouble, Janell Burse stepped up with her best effort of the season - 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench. The Storm controlled the glass, had just 13 turnovers against a team that forces more miscues than anyone in the WNBA, and contained Fever stars Katie Douglas (12 points) and Tamika Catchings (11).
The Storm will be right back here on KeyArena on Tuesday against Lindsey Harding, Alana Beard and the Washington Mystics, looking for a third straight win. Tuesday will be Celebrating Women in Sports Night, as the Storm hosts members of the Seattle Sounders Women, the Seattle Majestics, the Rat City Roller Girls, the UW National Champion Softball team, local Olympians and many more great local female athletes. 
Get your tickets now and join us!
Critical Point
Fourth Quarter: Storm 65, Indiana 54
If the Indiana Fever is to maintain hope of coming back to win this game, every possession is critical right now. With 4:03 left, the Storm still has an 11-point advantage and has been able to hold the Fever at bay. A couple more strong minutes would allow the Storm to put this game away and potentially even give Brian Agler a chance to get rookie Ashley Walker her first game action in more than two months. The Storm starting five is back in the game intact after Lauren Jackson was resting.
Storm Keeping it On
Fourth Quarter: Storm 63, Indiana 48
The Storm has pushed the lead back up to 15 points with 6:53 to play, and Janell Burse continues to lead the way. Burse just stole the ball from Katie Douglas and headed the other way, leading the break. She found Lauren Jackson, who gave it back to Burse on the give-and-go for the finish. She has a game-high 14 points to go with seven rebounds, and Lin Dunn took timeout. Dunn, the former Storm head coach, is always one of my favorite people in the WNBA. I had a chance to talk with her before tonight's game about returning to the Key.
"It's always special to come back," said Dunn. "Seattle is one of my favorite cities in the United States. I love being here, I love building this team, I love the fans, so it's always good to be back. I miss it. I haven't been back since last October, so it's been almost 10 months. It's good to see Lauren and Sue and Missy and some of the people I worked with."
As we mentioned, these two teams came into the WNBA together and have had plenty of ties since then.
"We both came in in 2000, so we were expansion teams together," Dunn said. "Anne (Donovan) and I both coached for both teams, Tully (Bevilaqua)'s played for both teams - she's on the All-Decade team for both teams."
I jokingly asked both Bevilaqua and Dunn which team would win if the Storm and Fever All-Decade Teams matched up - presumably with a cloned Tully playing for both teams. Bevilaqua, with good mate Lauren Jackson sitting next to her, went political and said you could flip a coin. Dunn said without hesitation she'd have to pick Indiana. It would be a pretty entertaining game with bright stars on both sides, many of them involved in tonight's game.
Weathering the Storm
End Third Quarter: Storm 57, Indiana 46
The Fever made a couple of runs in the third quarter, but at the period's end the lead remains 11. The last surge was 6-0 in the final minute, but with time running out Sue Bird found Janell Burse sprinting to the basket. Burse finished off glass while drawing a foul from Jessica Moore and completed the three-point play to make it 57-46 Storm with 10 minutes to go. Burse has really been the evening's star, scoring 10 points and grabbing six rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench.
Bird Powering Storm Offense
Third Quarter: Storm 48, Indiana 33
Balance remains the key for the Storm's offense, which now has six different players - all five starters and reserve Janell Burse - with at least six points. However, the Storm's offense has a new leader, and it's a familiar one - Sue Bird. Bird has been very aggressive in the third quarter, scoring seven of her game-high 12 points. She doesn't have an assist in that span but had one of the most gorgeous passes you're going to see, finding Janell Burse in full stride in transition. Burse was moving a little too fast and was unable to convert, but it was a phenomenal find in traffic.
Special introduction on ArenaVision during the timeout: Kristen O'Neill, the Univeristy of Washington product who played for the Storm last season.
Women of Inspiration
Halftime: Storm 37, Indiana 25
We just wrapped up our halftime ceremony honoring the 2009 Women of Inspiration - Harriet Dumba and Agnes Oswaha, co-founders of the Southern Sudanese Women's Association; Seattle Times President and COO Carolyn Kelly; and UW softball National Player of the Year Danielle Lawrie. They were introduced on ArenaVision and then gathered at center court for a photo. Lawrie could not be here tonight - she's watching her brother Brett play minor-league baseball in the Brewers organization - and was represented by UW Head Coach Heather Tarr.
I had a chance to interview all four women this week for profiles on stormbasketball.com and there is no doubt I've been inspired by all of them. Check out our Women of Inspiration page to find out more about all of them.
Storm On the Run
Halftime: Storm 37, Indiana 25
Wow. What an explosion by the Storm over the final 5:45 of the first half. There is no other way to describe what the Storm did over that stretch, outscoring the Fever 21-3 to take a double-digit lead to the locker room. Swin Cash capped the stretch by having a three-pointer with seconds to go in the half bounce in, out and then back in again. The Storm held Indiana without a field goal for over five minutes and scored more points in the last 5:45 of the first half (21) then in the first 14:15 (16). Given the competition, I feel comfortable saying that we just saw the Storm's best stretch of basketball all season.
What stands out from the Storm's first-half performance is the team's balance. Tanisha Wright led the team with eight points, but several players stepped up as Lauren Jackson struggled with foul trouble and the Indiana defense in the half.
Storm On the Run
Second Quarter: Storm 27, Indiana 24
The timeout, like so many under Brian Agler, paid off for the Storm. Seattle immediately started an 11-2 run that has given the Storm a three-point lead. The Storm has taken a page out of the Fever playbook, getting a couple of steals and converting them into layups at the other end. Give Janell Burse a lot of credit for sparking the Storm. She's come off the bench tonight to contribute seven points, five rebounds and a steal in just even minutes of work.
The Storm went on that run with Lauren Jackson resting on the bench. Very impressive.
Storm Having Trouble Scoring
Second Quarter: Indiana 22, Storm 16
In a game like this, one basket can feel like a run. Three straight buckets by the Indiana Fever feels like a dominant stretch. The two teams made just one basket in a span of more than four minutes before Indiana's 6-0 spurt, and Brian Agler takes a timeout to straighten out the offense. The Storm has just one basket in nearly seven minutes of game action. Indiana has done a good job of taking Lauren Jackson away. Jackson is taking difficult shots fading away from the basket and is 1-of-7 from the field.
Defensive Struggle
End First Quarter: Indiana 16, Storm 14
Despite good offenses, these are two teams that think defense first, and they showed it in the first quarter. The Storm is shooting 29.4 percent from the field, and that's actually better than Indiana, which is at 26.3 percent. The two teams are 1-of-9 from three-point range. What we have seen is a playoff level of intensity, though not yet a consistent playoff level of execution. Only one player in the game, the Fever's Katie Douglas, has multiple field goals.
More accurate shooting during the quarter break came from Doppler, who made two halfcourt shots to break the WNBA mascot record during a single minute. Doppler's been practicing ... .
Even Early
First Quarter: Storm 9, Indiana 9
It's been a low-scoring start for these two teams, but I think both of them have to feel pretty good about their execution on offense. Lauren Jackson has had a couple of threes go in and out and also has missed two of her free throw attempts. Since turning it over on the first possession of the game and almost the second, the Storm has taken good care of the basketball against Indiana's pressure and has moved it well. On the other side, the Fever is getting some good looks at three-pointers but is 1-of-4 from beyond the arc so far.
Tammy Sutton-Brown got her first start for Indiana since missing six games with a stress reaction in her right big toe. Sutton-Brown had come off the bench the last two games, but Lin Dunn decided to start her to get back to a normal rotation. Sutton-Brown's minutes remain limited because of the injury.
Pregame Ceremonies
Pregame
Storm CEO Karen Bryant was busy with pregame presentations at center court. First, Bryant presented Indiana's Tully Bevilaqua with a bouquet and flowers and the pendant received by other members of the Storm All-Decade Team on Aug. 1 against San Antonio. Bevilaqua watched that game from Indianapolis via LiveAccess and admitted she shed a tear watching Simone Edwards and Kamila Vodichkova come back to KeyArena.
"It's an honor," said Bevilaqua, who was also chosen for the Fever's All-Decade Team. "Seattle is a huge part of me. I still wear my championship ring everywhere."
After that, the Storm congratulated All-Stars Swin Cash and Lauren Jackson on a pair of milestones. A week ago in Saturday, Cash scored her 3,000th career point and Jackson became just the fourth player in WNBA history to score 5,000 in her career. Jackson also got an additional gameball for passing the 2,000-rebound mark earlier this season.
Signing On
Pregame
Hello from KeyArena, where the Seattle Storm returns home tonight to take on the WNBA's best team, the Indiana Fever. Tonight's game should be a lot of fun because of the ties between the two teams, both of whom are celebrating their 10th anniversary this season. Indiana Head Coach Lin Dunn was the Storm's first head coach, while Anne Donovan has also held that position for both teams. Fever guard Tully Bevilaqua is making her first appearance at the Key since being named to the Storm All-Decade Team last month. Tonight is also Women of Inspiration Night, and we'll celebrate this year's WOI nominees during a special halftime ceremony. That should mean plenty of action on and off the court, so stay with us all night long for the latest.
