
![]() Jackson |
Roster Shaping Up
![]() Janell Burse drives the lane in her KeyArena debut. Jeff Reinking/NBAE/Getty |
“In the perimeter, Tully Bevilaqua, who we thought struggled against Phoenix, came back and played extremely well against Sacramento,” Donovan said. “Tully keeps plugging away and has proven that that spot is probably hers, which makes Greco pretty important in this mix as a natural two guard. She’s done good things, but she needs to get better. We’re going to give Shaq (Williams) an opportunity tonight to get on the floor and see what she can do, but it’s going to be tough, very obviously, to beat out Tully.”
Williams ended up playing only three minutes and did not score. Greco, meanwhile, played 16 minutes off the bench, scoring five points, and seemed to put herself clearly in the lead for the final guard spot.
After playing only four of her six post players during Friday’s 59-56 loss to the Sacramento Monarchs (and Andrea Gardner-Combs for just five minutes), Donovan wanted to give some of the players fighting for a roster spot longer looks this evening, while balancing that with her desire to get her regulars minutes and have the team play well.
“I’ve already talked to Janell Burse – (she’s) probably not going to play a ton of minutes because I still have got six post players and Alicia Thompson who can swing in there, and there’s just not enough minutes for everybody to get in,” Donovan explained. And the most important thing is getting chemistry, so Kamila, Lauren, with Sue, Betty (Lennox) and Sheri (Sam), that’s important.
“I’m still recognizing that I need to get some evaluation done. Simone (Edwards) hasn’t played a minute yet, she only has one practice under her belt. (Maren) Walseth didn’t get in at all at Sacramento, so there’s still some evaluation to be done and it is tricky, because we’re still trying to win our first game of the preseason.”
Edwards was easily the most impressive of the posts battling for a roster spot against the Monarchs, scoring nine points in 13 minutes and earning seven free-throw attempts.
Pleased With the Effort
Asked to look back on Friday's game, Donovan maintained that she was pleased with how her team played despite the final outcome, explaining the Sacramento run that erased a 12-point Storm lead as largely due to fatigue.
“We were really good defensively, except for a stretch midway through the second half, where I had not done a good job of substituting, so we were fatigued," said Donovan. "In that stretch, we missed easy shots, close to the basket, and gave up layups. And then when we weren’t giving up layups, we were giving up second shots."

