Insider Preview - Storm vs. Sacramento

Yolanda Griffith

DeMya Walker

Five players remain from the Sacramento team that won the WNBA Championship three years ago, but with the exception of veteran point guard Ticha Penicheiro, they were young role players then who are now growing into larger roles. The Monarchs have also changed coaches since then. Former Storm Assistant Coach Jenny Boucek replaced John Whisenant on the sidelines last season when Whisenant decided to focus on his GM duties, but she's had a better opportunity to put her mark on the team this year.

In their opener, the Monarchs showed that the kids are alright. Sacramento held the San Antonio Silver Stars to 32.4% shooting, dominated the glass and got balanced scoring in a 73-64 win at ARCO Arena.

The one constant in Sacramento has been defense. Boucek has maintained Whisenant's trademark "white-line defense," which seeks to take away easy baskets by overloading the side of the court the ball is on with help defenders who are also in position to play the passing lines and steal the basketball when teams try to throw skip passes across the court. There was some question whether the defense would be as potent under Boucek, but Sacramento finished third in the WNBA in Defensive Rating a year ago.

The defense faces another test with Griffith's departure. She's been replaced in the starting lineup by veteran Adrian Williams-Strong, who has good length in the middle but isn't as physical a defender. Rookie Laura Harper, Sacramento's first-round pick, is sharing time with Williams-Strong in the middle. On the perimeter, the Monarchs still have several top-tier defenders. Stopper Chelsea Newton is day-to-day with an abdominal strain and figures to come off the bench, but athletic forward La'Tangela Atkinson, who played sparingly in her first year in Sacramento, has worked her way into increased minutes and is currently starting at small forward.

Where the Monarchs hope to make strides is on offense, always something of an afterthought under Whisenant. The team has a pair of shooters in guard Kara Lawson, an All-Star in 2007, and forward Nicole Powell. Last year, Lawson came off the bench. In the opener, it was Powell who played a sixth-woman role while Lawson started at shooting guard. Boucek will usually have at least one of her shooters on the floor, and the Monarchs offense is strongest when both are out there - though that means sacrificing some defense.

One way Sacramento hopes to generate more offense is by pushing the basketball. The team has the pieces in place to play up-tempo, starting with Penicheiro. The league's all-time leading assister, Penicheiro has saw her assist numbers drop in the Whisenant era. Last year, she handed out 7.6 assists per 40 minutes, her best rate since 2003, when Whisenant took over midseason. Penicheiro has never been a scorer, and teams have done a better job of playing her to pass in recent seasons, making it more difficult for her to find passing lanes. Penicheiro shot 1-for-8 from the field in the opener, but handed out seven assists against just one turnover.

Besides Powell, the Monarchs are very young on the bench. Sacramento has four rookies on the roster, and three of them - Harper and third-round picks Charel Allen and A'Quonesia Franklin - saw action against San Antonio. Franklin, a 5-4 burst of energy from Texas A&M, has emerged as Penicheiro's backup at the point. She had two steals in 17 minutes in her WNBA debut and will put pressure on the Storm's guards from the time she checks into the game until she returns to the bench.

The Storm had little success against Sacramento last year, when Anne Donovan faced off with her former assistant. Sacramento swept the season series and has won five of six over the last two seasons - a change from when the Storm controlled the matchup in 2004 and 2005, going 5-2 against the Monarchs in the regular season and beating Sacramento in the 2004 Western Conference Finals. Of course, all of those games were played with Griffith in a Monarchs uniform. Now she has joined the Storm. In the first game with the entire roster available, the Storm started slowly on Opening Night Saturday against Chicago but got rolling after halftime. The Storm hopes to extend that momentum in this game.

KEY MATCHUP
	Powell's outside shooting has long made her a Storm nemesis. Last season, she averaged 17.0 points in three head-to-head matchups. While the Storm contained Powell inside the arc and she made but 31.3% of her two-point attempts in those games, she hit seven three-pointers in 14 attempts and was perfect at the free-throw line. Storm players must be aware of Powell as well as Lawson whenever they are on the court. The Storm's shooter off the bench is Katie Gearlds, who hit four three-pointers last year against the Monarchs. Gearlds shot 1-of-6 from the field on Opening Night, but was on the floor in the second half as the Storm took control of the game.

The Storm completed a home-and-home series Aug. 3 in Sacramento. A hot start gave the Storm an early lead, but before halftime Seattle suffered a costly loss when Jackson strained her groin and left the game for good. The Storm took the lead into the fourth quarter, but struggled down the stretch. With the Storm committing three straight turnovers, the Monarchs went on a 9-0 run an went on to an 82-76 victory. Betty Lennox scored a game-high 18 points, while Janell Burse recorded a double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds).

INJURIES

Storm - None.

Sacramento - Guards Chelsea Newton (abdominal strain, left side) and Scholanda Robinson (minor right knee surgery) are day-to-day.