Final score: Storm 89 – Mercury 48 (W) (10-11)

Attendance | 6759

Anthem Xtra Notes | Missed it

Anthem High Note | Missed it

Anthem Style | Harmonica, but I was out getting a hot dog and missed it

Fan Noise | Good and loud, but quieted down once we got to a 30+ lead

Signs | A lotof 3M signs

Fan Psyche | Come on, let's see 40!

Halftime | The Danceteam and about 200 of their closest friends

Ummm, wow.

To borrow a phrase from Marques Johnson (former color commentator with Kevin Callabro for the Sonics), we beat them like they stole something.

We may or may not really be in the playoff hunt depending on how you predict the next 11 games (and whether or not Portland really does go on their typical 2nd half slide), but the future is looking bright for the Seattle Storm. Lauren Jackson is finally playing with confidence and looks comfortable on the court. Sue is vying for the rookie record of looking like a veteran the quickest. Kamila is quietly nearly scoring a double double in points and rebounds every game. And the supporting cast of Amanda, Adia, Michelle and the others are doing all "the little things" necessary to win games.

This was a game that Seattle HAD to win (like in a 32 game season there are really any throwaway games). Over the next 11 games, we must beat the other teams who have a shot at the 4th playoff spot and we have to hope that Portland stumbles. Tonight's performance is exactly what the Storm have to do on a consistent basis in order to make it to the playoffs. But think about this, out of the last 8 halves against Houston, LA, Cleveland and Phoenix, the Storm only blew 2 of them - the 2nd halves against Houston and Cleveland. I honestly believe that what we are seeing is a team that is beginning to believe in itself and a team that now knows what they need to do to win games.

I want to focus not on our superstars (Sue, LJ and Killa), but on the other players for this Gameday. Everybody, with the painful exception of Semeka, played solid, productive minutes tonight. Coach Dunn was able to rotate the bench in early and allow them all to get a lot of minutes. Takeisha "Big Dog" Lewis did get 5 fouls, but she was also a rebounding machine and on one play took an offensive rebound back up with so much force that I think she caught everyone off guard. She is not fast over a long run, but she has such a burst of speed towards the basket she's scary. She is also a rookie. Takeisha missed a free throw and looked to Coach Dunn with a "what do you want me to do" look. Lin motioned for her to hit the free throw and then turned to the bench smiling and shaking her head. It was pretty funny. Takeisha will be an intimidating post defender one day once she gets consistent playing time. In addition to ripping down rebounds, she was also up in people's mugs and altering shots. I'm glad she's on our team is all I can say, and I pity the rest of the league when she gets her veteran moves going.

Adia Barnes played a great all around game tonight. Her stat line wasn't spectacular, but it was solid (8 pts, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 0 fouls) and she did a lot of things that didn't show up in the final numbers. As she was working against the bigger, stronger and faster posts she was defending, all I could think of was that game in Phoenix that the Storm lost. You know, the one in which Lisa Harrison and Jennifer Gillom consistently killed us inside - the one when Adia was on the IR. Tonight was a team effort, but Adia but the hurt on both Lisa and Jennifer. After Adia switched onto Gillom on defense part way through the first half, Jennifer stopped scoring. Would we have won in Phoenix if Adia had played? I don't know but I always like our chances when she is on the floor. Adia may not score much and her shooting may be in the 30% range, but I don't care.

Simone has also been quietly productive this season and was again this game. She seems to have lost her shooting range and would be scoring 16-18 points a game if she would just hit 2 or 3 more shots, but she is still nearly getting a double double on any given night.

The only disappointment from tonight was Semeka. I don't want to be down on her because I like Semeka a lot, but she just looks really off. It may be a combination of her own confidence and lack of playing time, but out of all the players Semeka looks the most uncomfortable on the court right now. She bobbles the ball a lot, forces shots, drives against 2 and 3 defenders and isn't passing to her teammates when she gets into trouble. There have been hints that she is now the one in the Dunn Doghouse and so we were glad to see her get a lot of playing time (even if it was because of a record-setting lead). But then she kind of muffed it and ended up justifying her bench time. I know that sounds harsh, but I think it is accurate. I hate to see it happen, but that's how it seemed to me.

The big mystery of the night - where in the world was Jamie Redd. Angie noticed that she was missing off the bench about mid way through the first half. Speculation was running rampant. I commented that she would have to either been traded and we didn't know it or in the hospital to be missing a game. One fan did say she had heard that Jamie was indeed in the hospital with a serious flu/stomach virus, but we haven't seen or heard anything official. Anyone?

Tonight's SPoG goes to Lauren Jackson (with a SPoG junior to Adia). It is such a great feeling to see her playing with so much confidence and poise, and to see that she is finally having fun out there. I almost can't wait for next season when she and Sue will only be better together. We are seeing the emergence of a great WNBA (and world) superstar, and it is a joy to watch her.

Notes:

Family in the House! - Sue's mom, Adia's mom and dad, Takeisha's brother and a friend, and a friend of LJ's were all in the Friends and Family section tonight. Sue's mom is a freak and a half - she was jumping, dancing and screaming with the best of the fans. Adia's mom had a lot to cheer about and was hopping around quite a bit too. Angie went down and told her that she needs to come to more games if it means that Adia will play this well.

The bench was of course feeling pretty good all night. They were up singing, cheering and dancing along with the danceteam, fans and sometimes all by themselves. The funniest part was when Michelle's college photo was flashed up on arenavision in one of those "Who am I?" bits. As many of you know, any photo of Michelle in her youth is good for a chuckle, but the team was goofing on her pretty hard while it was up. I think even Coach Dunn had a smile on her face.

The officials plain out sucked in the first half. I don't know what was going on but they wouldn't call a damn thing on Phoenix until the Storm started dominating the game. In fact, I would go so far as to say that one of the reasons it took so long for the Storm to get rolling in the first half was because the refs were so disruptive and allowed the Mercury to get away with so much.

They handed out purple glow sticks before the game so that there would a "unique" look during player intros. It was unique, I guess.

The Sue Bird All-Star t-shirts are pretty damn cool, and no Starbuck logo on the back. For those of you who couldn't get one, I'm sure they'll show up on EBay very soon.