Final score: Storm 61 – Starzz 64 (L) (9-18)

Attendance | 5873

Anthem Xtra Notes | Lots

Anthem High Note | Got it

Anthem Style | Angie liked it. Scott will never be pleased

Fan Noise | Pretty loud

Signs | Hodne Stesti

Fan Psyche | Down, up, then down

Halftime | Kid dancers a plenty

We are hopeful before this game. The Storm beat the Starzz twice in Salt Lake earlier this season. They’ve had a few hard losses recently and we are all ready to win a home game. We figure that the team is due. The Storm have won more road games than home games this year.

For the last game, I chose to focus on the last 3 minutes because that was, in my opinion, the best part of the game. Things follow a similar tack with tonight’s game, only this time with the last 10 minutes of the game.

The Storm are in it for the first few minutes and then before we know it, the Starzz are up by 10. They hold that lead through the first half and flirt with a 14 point lead early in the second half. Margo Dydek completely changes the fabric and flow of the game. When she is in, the Storm, arguably rightfully so, seem intimidated by her. Every pass into the post is met with a confused response that seems to say, “You want me to take it against her?” And, the few times that a brave soul attacks Mt. Dydek, the ball comes right back or the shot is altered to the point that it has no chance of hitting. How do you overcome an obstacle like Dydek? Perimeter shooting – get her out of the lane – and you get her into foul trouble.

Well, the outside shots are falling at the beginning of the game, but that stops. The Storm do get Natalie Williams in foul trouble early, and then get Margo in it late. But, we are still down by 12 with 10 minutes left in the second half, and the Starzz seem like they are firing on all cylinders. Marie Ferdinand looks very confident and hits several open outside shots after the Storm commit to interior defense. Jennifer Azzi is her usual competent self leading the Starzz attack. And the Starzz are cleaning up the boards like nobody’s business. The inevitable starts to rear its ugly head.

Then, just like with the last game, something happens with the Storm. This time, instead of waiting until it is too late, they make a move with 10 minutes on the clock. Persistent defense, a couple quick scores, a 3 by Jamie, a 3 by Michelle, and before the Starzz can say, “What the…” the Storm are back in this game. They tie it at 47 with less than five minutes left. The Key is rocking and rocking hard. The Starzz are on their heels – just a few minutes ago they were in complete control of the game.

After a timeout, the Starzz hit a basket to staunch the Storm’s press (I think it was Ferdinand). The Storm lose a little steam. Maybe they put so much into getting back into the game that once things start going Utah’s way again, they don’t have enough to keep up. The offense staggers. It seems that the team loses their edge and hesitates a little too much. They miss a couple of bad shots, then a couple of free throws. Time is winding down and the Starzz rebuild a 5 point lead that grows to 7. The Storm hit a couple of threes at the end, but it is too late.

This game is a good sample of what the whole season has been so far. The Storm play great defense and then can’t convert the turnovers into points. They get creamed in rebounds. They run the shot clock down and the chant always seems to go “Five, four, three, two… damn.” The opponent can focus on Lauren because they don’t fear any of our other players scoring.

It is an exciting game for the last 10 minutes. It would have been nice to come away with a win.

Notes:

The Marching Guy gets called down to help Doppler throw t-shirts out to the crowd during a timeout. Go Marching Guy, Go!

Alessandra Santos de Oliveira gets some decent playing time tonight and shows that she is one player who has no fear of the great Polish Wall. She fights for rebounds, drives against Margo and plays some good defense. But, she also has a couple of defensive lapses that lead to Starzz scores (also because Lauren had 5 fouls at the end of the game and couldn’t bring hard weak side help). It is good to finally see what Day Oh (the official stormfans.org nickname – see the Forum) brings to the game.

The Starbucks Espresso shot contest is between two guys again. The first guy gets nothing and seems really pissed off. Even Steven Kilbreath, the announcer, says something about that they always think it’s easier than it looks. The second player, Carlos from Venezuela, kicks some serious butt and scores 12 points – a record, we think.

The halftime is a performance by the Storm Dance Team and the 80 kids who attended the Dance Up a Storm practice before the game. They get down with their bad selves pretty well. Not all of them are together, or on the beat, but they seem to be enjoying themselves.

There is a short video clip about the upcoming Lin Dunn bobblehead giveaway. They show one of the soon-to-be-Ebay-goldmine bobbleheads up close, sitting on the court. They pan back a bit and there is Katy Steding doing her bobblehead impression. Very funny.

Also at the half, they show the NBC interview segment on Lauren that was televised before the Mercury and Monarchs game last Sunday. It is interesting to watch Maree Jackson's reactions during the video. Maree, Lauren’s mum, smiles most of the time and only winces a little when they show a picture of her from her college days.

And finally, Bungie Ball makes another appearance. What can we say – WE LOVE BUNGIE BALL.