The celebration started well before the final buzzer sounded. By the time of the under-four minutes media timeout with 2:13 to play, the Seattle Storm held a 22-point lead and was headed to the WNBA Finals. A minute later, Storm Coach Anne Donovan began pulling her starters, first heroic point guard Sue Bird, then newcomers Sheri Sam and Betty Lennox and finally Lauren Jackson and Kamila Vodichkova, one of just two players - along with Simone Edwards - who has seen the Storm through from the first game in franchise history to the first trip to the WNBA Finals in franchise history. Each got well-deserved ovations, but the celebration did not reach its fever pitch until the Storm dribbled out the final few seconds of an 82-62 victory that secured the Western Conference Championship for the Storm.
GAME SUMMARY | |
Player of the Game: Sue Bird. A day after surgery, just being on the court was an achievement for Bird. And she managed to be the best player out there, recording a double-double of 10 points and 14 assists and coming up with three steals in what might have been the best game of her already illustrious career. Reserve of the Game: Alicia Thompson. Instant offense lived up to her reputation tonight, scoring seven consecutive points to spark the Storm's run. Play of the Night: Well, the Storm dribbling out the clock was the play of the year thus far. In a more traditional sense, Bird had a stunningly gorgeous look to Jackson after being trapped on a pick-and-roll that found Jackson all alone under the hoop for a layup with 5:33 left in the first half. Turning point: Thompson's seven straight points. |
The Storm's journey is not yet done, not with the Connecticut Sun, winners of four straight in the playoffs and a team that gave the Storm trouble during the regular season, still in the schedule. To be technical, it was a trip that began 162 days again when the Storm convened for media day and the start of training camp.
"We're trying to win a championship this year," Bird said that day, referencing the trade that brought the Storm Sam and Janell Burse. "We're not trying to win one in ten years or five years."
Really, the trail extends back further, to Ginger Ackerley, Karen Bryant and Lin Dunn starting a franchise from scratch; to Jackson and Bird being taken with the top pick in two consecutive drafts; to the Storm beating Portland at the end of the 2002 season to set up the first playoff run in franchise history; to last season's fade down the stretch that served as a motivating factor all year long; to Donovan's moves to bring in Lennox and Sam this off-season because she felt the Storm could compete for a championship.
It was said during the Minnesota series, when Lennox, Sam and the Storm's depth carried the team despite injuries to Bird and Lennox and foul trouble in Game 1 for Jackson, that Donovan's blueprint had finally become reality. That was only a precursor, however, to what happened tonight.
At one point during the game, Storm play-by-play broadcaster David Locke intoned that every Storm player was playing her best basketball. The comment was hyperbole, in typical Locke fashion, but he wasn't far off. The list of players to credit for the victory is lengthy.
That begins with Bird, who has shown maturity well beyond her 23 years during the playoffs. After breaking her nose in Game 2 of the sweep over Minnesota, Bird hasn't missed a beat. Tonight, playing a day after having surgery on the nose - a surgery that sidelines many laypeople for days - Bird played arguably the best game of her career. Bird handed out a career-high 14 assists, eclipsing the WNBA playoff record shared by Jennifer Azzi, Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon and breaking her career high and the franchise record, playoffs or regular season.
"I don’t think she’s ever been better," said Donovan. "I say that clearly because of how mentally tough she had to be, to come into this series with the broken nose, to go through surgery yesterday, keep her focus and handle a very good defense that was definitely geared on her today, to trap her and take the ball out of her hands, and to again to be able to keep her composure for 14 assists. Phenomenal."
Bird's performance overshadowed an MVP effort from Jackson, who scored 27 points, her average in this series. Jackson's six three-pointers have only been surpassed one time in WNBA playoff history, and her five second-half threes - on five attempts - set a new playoff record. Jackson scored 18 of her 27 points in the second half, powering through the onset of fatigue despite playing the first 39 minutes of the game and 117 of the 125 possible in this series.
"Crooked number" Sam, as Locke calls her, did exactly what Donovan acquired her to do - a little bit of everything. Sam was terrible in the first two games, committing 13 turnovers, but she maintained her composure and scored 12 points, hitting two threes, grabbed 10 rebounds for her second double-double in five playoff games, handed out five assists and picked up two steals. Not bad for an evening's work.
Lennox was once again the energizer, hitting several momentous threes and scoring 11 points in the first half to get the Storm off to a good start.
Vodichkova, called a "blacksmith" by Sacramento Coach John Whisenant after Monday's practice, had on her hard hat again. Monarchs star Yolanda Griffith played a great game, scoring 13 points on 6-for-9 shooting and grabbing eight rebounds, but was unable to dominate because of Vodichkova's defense.
Donovan said before the game she likely wouldn't go to her bench much, and the reserves combined for just 29 minutes, but they made them count. Tully Bevilaqua filled in admirably for Bird at the point and drew a momentum-giving charge against Griffith with Bird on the bench in the second half. And it was Alicia Thompson who turned around the game with her scoring and energy midway through the second half.
At the first full timeout of the second half, taken with 14:21 on the clock, the Storm's lead was down to one, 44-43 (Seattle never trailed) and the team looked fatigued. Donovan had already put Thompson in the game to rest Sam and pick up the defense and had seen her promptly throw the ball away. Something changed during the timeout.
"We talked about that this was their time," Donovan said afterwards. "This is when they challenged us in the past. We stared that right in the face. We needed to continue to keep our composure as they kept their pressure up, and I thought we did a great job of that."
Did they ever. Thompson first got to the free-throw line, then scored a fast-break layup after a Bird steal, then hit a three-pointer. Her seven points of instant offense kick-started undoubtedly the most remarkable run in Storm franchise history. By the time the Monarchs could breath again, Seattle had held them scoreless for eight minutes and 34 seconds and ran off 20 consecutive points to, for all intents and purposes, end the game.
How quick was the run? To interject myself into the story, I was doing stats for KJR's broadcast and didn't even realize the Storm was on a run until the under-eight minutes timeout with 7:41 left in the half, by which point the Storm had scored 18 points in a row. During the stretch, the Storm hit four three-pointers, and they would make a WNBA record, playoff or otherwise, 10 three-pointers in the half, a playoff record 12 three-pointers (on just 18 attempts, 66.7% accuracy) in the game.
There are many nights one could point to as the best game in Storm franchise history. But given the quality of the opponent, the magnitude of the game and the thoroughness with which the Storm destroyed the Monarchs, tonight will be difficult to top for many years to come.
On The Other Side …
As exciting as tonight was for the Storm, one can't help but feel sadness for the Sacramento Monarchs. For the third time in four years, the Monarchs were 40 minutes away from the WNBA Finals but couldn't get over the hump of the Western Conference Championship, falling again. The Monarchs eliminated the obstacle that had stood in their way previously, the Los Angeles Sparks, but couldn't get past the Storm.
This might have been the last best chance for a championship for the Monarchs as currently constructed. Guard Ruthie Bolton is 37 and has already taken a college coaching job at William Jessup University in Rocklin, near Sacramento, though she may continue playing. Edna Campbell will turn 36 in November and Griffith, who said after the game she is coming back next season, is 34.
Congrats to Sacramento on a tremendous 2004 season.
