Insider Preview - Storm vs. San Antonio

The Silver Stars are hoping Wauters will be the spark they need to kick their 2009 season into high gear. It's not that San Antonio has played poorly, and the Stars would be a playoff team if the season ended today. Still, an 8-9 record at the midway point of the campaign is a disappointment for a team that won the Western Conference a year ago and went 20-14 in 2007 with a similar cast of players.

The big issue for the Silver Stars has been putting together strong basketball on a consistent basis. When San Antonio beat the visiting Storm at the AT&T Center on Tuesday, it marked just the second time all season the Silver Stars had won consecutive games. However, San Antonio gave back that momentum two days later at ARCO Arena, falling to the last-place Sacramento Monarchs in overtime to slip back below .500.

Wauters will immediately give San Antonio more size and depth in the middle. That the Silver Stars haven't played better certainly cannot be blamed on Wauters' replacement, Ruth Riley, who has averaged 7.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. With Mattera playing sparingly, however, with Riley fighting Achilles tendinitis recently San Antonio has been starting an undersized frontline of 6-1 Sophia Young and 6-3 Erin Perperoglou (nee Buescher), both of them naturally forwards.

Another benefit of Wauters will be a consistent third scorer on offense. Silver Stars point guard Becky Hammon has had a fine season, averaging a league-leading 21.0 points per game while also ranking fifth in assists (4.9 per game). Fellow All-Star Sophia Young adds 17.8 points a night, making the two San Antonio players the league's second-highest scoring duo (trailing Phoenix's Cappie Pondexter and Diana Taurasi). No other Silver Star averages double-figures; Wauters is sure to change that.

While San Antonio knew all along that Wauters would rejoin the team at some point, the contributions of Megan Frazee have been a much more pleasant surprise. Frazee was no lock to make the team as a second-round pick out of Liberty, but she has quickly adapted to the pro game. Getting more time with Riley ailing, Frazee has scored double-figures three times in the last five games. On Tuesday against the Storm, she had a career-high 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting, adding seven rebounds. Frazee is a fine shooter for her size who is also productive on the glass.

Saturday will be the third of four meetings for the Storm and the Silver Stars, who will finish the season against each other in San Antonio in a game that could have playoff implications. While the home team has won each of the first two matchups (and both games between the teams in 2008), they have been wildly different games. At KeyArena, the Storm crushed the Silver Stars 41-17 on the glass. Tuesday, San Antonio returned the favor. The league's worst offensive rebounding team grabbed 14 of its own misses, extending possessions and ultimately breaking the Storm's back defensively.

"I think we've got to focus more on the last game, because that was the most recent one," said Storm Head Coach Brian Agler. "Obviously they did a much better job on the boards than they did here, made a marked improvement there. I thought their energy was very, very good and they played like I thought they would - like a team that's hungry and with a sense of urgency."

The rebounding was part of a strange night for the Storm defense, which did a terrific job of taking the paint away from San Antonio (which shot 35.0 percent from inside the three-point line) but surrendered both second chances and three-pointers. The Silver Stars made 12 threes, hitting at a 41.4 percent clip from downtown. In the previous meeting, San Antonio shot 26.1 percent from beyond the arc and was limited to a season-low 53 points.

KEY MATCHUP
	Another major difference between the two matchups has been how the Storm has handled Hammon. The first time around, Hammon was limited to 13 points on 3-of-9 from the field. In the Silver Stars win, she had a game-high 24 points, making nine of her 14 shot attempts. Matchups played a role in this. San Antonio has moved Helen Darling to a reserve role, and she and Hammon were rarely on the floor together Tuesday. That made it more difficult for the Storm to use stopper Tanisha Wright to defend Hammon. Darling is a terrific defender in her own right, which should make the matchup more advantageous for Sue Bird when the Storm has the ball.

As the buzzer expired Tuesday in San Antonio, Young's three-pointer found the net and proved the difference in a 74-71 win for the Silver Stars over the visiting Seattle Storm. That it was a three-pointer that doomed the Storm was fitting on a night when San Antonio made nearly half of its field goals from beyond the arc - 12 in all in 29 attempts. The Storm held the Silver Stars to 37.7 percent shooting overall, but was done in by threes and second chances - San Antonio had 14 offensive rebounds.

In a game marked by runs on both sides, it looked like the Storm had a good chance to steal a road victory after taking a 10-point lead to the fourth quarter. The team's offense then went cold in the final period, scoring just three points over an 8:46 span as the Silver Stars went on an 18-3 run to take control. The Storm rallied to tie on a Wright runner with 14.5 seconds left, but left enough time for Young's winner.

All five Storm starters scored double-figures, led by 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting from Lauren Jackson. Swin Cash (10 points, 11 rebounds) recorded her second double-double of the season. Hammon led San Antonio with 24 points, while Frazee scored a career-high 15.

INJURIES

Storm - Forward Ashley Walker (right big toe) is out.

San Antonio - None.