Final score: Storm 76 – Mercury 84 (L) (2-1)

Submitted by | StormFan7

Attendance | 5368

Anthem | I don't remember her name but I wish she would come sing at the Key because she was really good.  
 
Pre-Game: Got to talk to some of the players before the game during the warm-ups. We wished them luck in the game and they were pleased to see some fans there supporting them. Chelle Thompson hit everything during warm-ups and looked ready to play. LJ was bouncing up the court (like a little girl) to go shake hands with the refs.  
 
Forget the 8x10 player cards, Phoenix gives out 11x14 posters with the rosters on the back. I grabbed about 30 so once I get back and put some aside for my peeps (Leighway, trinity...) I will put some on Marketplace. And they had DT schedule magnets and once they are put aside they will go up on Marketplace too.  
 
Game Time: Oh how I wish we had an intro like the Mercury have. It has to be one of the best I have seen. It opens with a silhouette playing the drums and you hear Jet's "Are you gonna be my girl" and the silhouette is Nikki McCray. Then they show the rest of team (individually) playing basketball in alleys, on the street and playing intruments like they're the ones doing the song.  It's really cool.  
 
DT was on LJ like white on rice. She (DT) had a hold of LJ's jersey so when LJ spun around it made her jersey lift up and reveal everything under it.   DT was placed on LJ alot I think to really hustle her and it worked.
 
LJ had one play where she missed and got the board and then missed and got the board...after the third miss they called a foul and she yelled "S*IT" so loud everyone in the arena must have heard her.  
 
Greco was guarding DT while she was playing. She seemed to keep up with her and limit DT's shooting.  
 
On one play Christensen was on LJ and LJ elbowed her so hard in the neck it's a surprise her head didn't pop off. She then flopped to the floor but this time she had reason.  
 
Bird: She was getting fouled all night long. One time she got shoved into AD and fell at her feet and they didn't call anything. The refs called the soft stuff but not the hard stuff. Bird must have gotten fouled and fouled hard 5 or 6 times but they didn't call it.  
 
Sam wears a black tank top under her jersey so when she wipes her face with her jersey you don't see anything.  
 
They called a foul on Tully late in the game and she didn't do anything and LJ was arguing so much Tully had to hold her back from the ref.  
 
Greco: I heart her as much as the next person but the girl needs to score. She needs to get confidence in her shot (or something) enough to get her to shoot more. She must have been open 2 or 3 times but she would pass it up instead of backing herself. Please Greco shoot the ball, you have a sweet shot.
 
LJ: The casual basketball fan wouldn't notice that LJ isn't playing that great. But it was something that was made sure of last night. Don't let the stats fool you ladies and gentelmen, LJ isn't playing the way she should. Her injury is limiting her energy and playing ability. She still puts up double-doubles but imagine what she can do at full strength.  
 
The team played like they had a week off. They made stupid turnovers. LJ basically handed the ball to Penny Taylor in one play. They didn't hustle for loose balls or get back on D. Janell Burse is probably the only player that was hustling out there.  
 
KV: I have no answers for what has happened to her. It may be that she has hit a wall from all the playing she does and is just mentally tired atm. I hate to say it but I see her coming off the bench for us in the near future (like LA or Phoenix) and Janell getting the starting job.  
 
Note to the man in front of us: If you made your belt one notch tighter I wouldn't have to look at your crack everytime you stood up.  
 
Jen Gillom was at the game and at the after party.  
 
Phoenix has nazi ushers. Shed said if one of them had said another grumpy word to her she would have flipped.
 
Went to drown our sorrows with some Phoenix fans after the game. The good thing was that they weren't just Phoenix fans but true fans of the game and had lots of complimentary things to say about Seattle. They were a great bunch of people and we look forward to catching up with them again.  We invited them to Seattle.
 
America West is a nice arena now that it's been upgraded, but they still need to do something with their scoreboard. For the first 5 minutes of the game the board was blank so we couldn't follow any of the stats It also doesn't accommodate replays. For that you have to look to one of the end or sides to see any sort of footage. Everytime we visit another arena we are reminded how good we have it with the Key. It really is a great venue.
 
Finally and most importantly, Brilliant, the rally monkey, didn't fit in the bag, so wasn't taken to the game. This is the real reason we didn't win.