Postgame Notebook - Storm 68, Connecticut 63

Vodichkova

Thirty-second recap: With Lindsay Whalen sitting out and the Seattle Storm so dominant at KeyArena (now 4-0 this season), the entire game had a sense of inevitability about it. Connecticut kept it close, but it never seemed as if the Storm was truly threatened, and eventually time ran out on the Sun.
Player of the Game: Kamila Vodichkova. Slump. What slump? It was a breakout game for Vodichkova, who started slow - missing a shot in the lane and badly missing the rim on an offering from the perimeter, drawing only glass - but looked like the Kamila of old thereafter, hitting 8-of-14 shots to score 18 points and also pulling down 10 boards for her fourth career double-double. Both marks obliterated Vodichkova's 2004 season highs and tied her best performances in 2003.
Reserve of the Game: Adia Barnes. After watching during the first half, Barnes brought the Storm a huge infusion of energy when she checked into the game less than three minutes after halftime. Barnes missed four of her five shots, but aggressively looked to score and was outstanding defensively.
Play of the Night: Storm guard Sue Bird didn't have a huge scoring night, finishing with seven points, but three of them came the hard way. Fouled on a drive to the hoop, Bird shot, looking for free throws, but ended up banking the ball off glass and in. She hit a free throw to complete the three-point play and give the Storm an eight-point lead.
Turning point: After Connecticut cut the lead to three, 57-54, with 8:25 to play, the Storm scored the game's next nine points to push the lead to 12 with just over three minutes to play, and the Sun's furious rally was not enough to overcome the deficit.

Looking for More

Other than backup center Janell Burse, the Storm bench has struggled a bit lately, something confirmed at a recent practice by Coach Anne Donovan.

"I'm a little disappointed at the moment that we aren't getting more production there,” Donovan said. “I still feel comfortable going to the bench and getting minutes from them, but in terms of what's being produced on the stat sheet, we're not getting a whole lot, other than Janell."

To try to rectify that situation, Donovan hinted she would look at altering her rotation, specifically her backup wing.

"We'll continue to look at Adia (Barnes), and now we're going to start to look at Alicia Thompson a little bit more and see if she can give us something in those minutes."

Thompson was the second player off the bench for the Storm in the first half. She did not score or grab a rebound in three minutes. As a result, Donovan went back to Barnes in the second half, and she finished with five points and three key rebounds in 15 minutes of action, solidifying the Storm and possibly her role. Still, the bench combined for just eight points and seven rebounds and was outplayed by Connecticut's reserves, who scored 26 points (albeit in more minutes).

Sun Without Whalen

The Storm got a break pre-game when Connecticut point guard Lindsay Whalen was forced to go to the hospital to undergo tests after running a fever. Whalen had started the Sun’s last six games and has averaged 8.7 points and 4.5 assists as a starter.

“When we got here the other night, she was starting to feel kind of crummy,” said Connecticut Coach Mike Thibault before the game. “Yesterday morning, when she woke up, she felt pretty bad.”

In Whalen’s absence, the Sun turned to veteran Debbie Black, who also started the team’s opener, and rookie Jen Derevjanik. While saying that Connecticut does not play a hugely different style without Whalen in the lineup, Donovan again lauded her ability at the point.

“Lindsay is very good at putting the ball on the floor, threading the needle,” said Donovan. “If you back off her, you don’t guard her, stop her, she shoots the three. It seems to me like her game’s just raised her confidence level. I would say that they’ve learned how to play with her and win with her playing this well. It will be a little bit of adjustment for them to be without her now.”

Black and Derevjanik ended up combining for five points, six rebounds and six assists, but the key statistic was that Connecticut managed just six fast-break points.

Donovan was also concerned on the behalf of the KeyArena fans, who will not get a chance to see Whalen play until the Sun returns to Seattle next season.

“I think it’s disappointing for our fans not to get a chance to see her,” said Donovan, “because I think she’s a real fun player to watch, something that we got excited about when we looked at this draft, so it’s unfortunate.”