Final
score: Storm 84 – Liberty 53 (W) (8-7)
Attendance
|
6938
Anthem
Watch | Soprano sax guy. No one giggled, which
is an improvement over the last game.
Fan
Psyche | Isn't NY supposed to be, you know,
good? Or something.
Game
Highlight | Sue getting her 1000th assist,
followed mere seconds later with assist 1001 to Izi for three.
Halftime
| More kids playing basketball.
SF.O
Keyword of the Game | Tenacity.
Game
Photos |
Rick
| Scott
L | Scott
E
I
don't know about the rest of you, but I was worried going
into this game. The Liberty, against expectations, have done
pretty well this season and have played the kind of we-have-nothing-to-lose
basketball that is both exciting to watch and scary to face.
They've beaten some good teams. They've overcome the loss
of a lot of talent by finding new talent in players who hadn't
gotten the spotlight before. They are a scary team.
Well,
they can be a scary team.
Tonight
was all about the Storm, and more specifically the Storm guards.
Sue, Betty and Izi (yes, I know she's technically a small
forward but stay with me) ruled this game and basically let
LJ have her one — and only one — bad shooting
night with no real consequences.
Sue
was hitting shots in the first quarter and actively looking
to score. Betty was knocking on the triple-double door and
probably would have gotten it if she had played at all in
the fourth quarter. And Izi. Where did that come from? She
went crazy tonight, hitting 4 threes, running the fastbreak
and shredding the Liberty defense.
The
Storm put on a great show tonight. This is the kind of game
you want televised. They were executing the offense. They
were tenacious on defense in a way we've not really seen this
season. They were scrapping for rebounds and loose balls.
Wendy dove for a ball in the last couple of minutes of the
fourth quarter when the Storm were up by 30ish. She could
have left it. We didn't need the possession, but no, she threw
herself on the floor to save the ball and get it back in play
to a teammate.
I
don't know what Coach Donovan might have said or what else
might have triggered the focus and determination we saw tonight,
but thanks to whatever it was and, hey, let's have it again.
The
great thing was that it wasn't one or two players who were
leading the charge and hoping the others would follow their
example. All of the Storm were playing high energy, aggressive
defense. The Liberty only had 40 points at the end of three
quarters. The Storm really blew the game open in the third
quarter, holding the Liberty to 12 while scoring 23. The lead
was hovering around 30 for the last 12-13 minutes of the game.
This was one of those cliché games where they Storm's
strong defense lead to easy offense.
The
one dark cloud was that LJ was as much a non-factor as she
can be and still get a double-double. She was the Liberty's
early target. They read the Detroit scouting report and played
Lauren very physically with hard double- and triple-teams.
Unlike against the Sky when it didn't matter what kind of
defense she faced, tonight the bumps and hacks worked to slow
LJ down. Fortunately, she got some help and was able to weather
the bad shooting.
She
and McCarville were really hammering away at each other. LJ
ended up getting popped in the mouth and had to come out during
the first quarter to get her front teeth checked out. Later,
she popped McCarville in the eye (it looked like, hard to
tell from across the court) and Crazy Hair had to go to the
locker room for awhile. After the game, McCarville showed
a lot of class and found LJ after the final team huddles for
a little, "Hey, no hard feelings" thing. LJ said
something like "No problem mate" and was all smiles.
I,
and others sitting around me, were getting a little concerned
during the fourth quarter while Coach Donovan left LJ in even
though we were up by 30. She didn't come out until about the
6:00 mark. I'm not sure why we had any starters in during
the last quarter. Why not give the bench the whole 10:00?
They could use it.
One
other potential negative — Betty left the game in the
third with an obvious limp. She went down on the Liberty end
of the court and was slow to get up. She hobbled up and down
the court a couple times until Coach Donovan finally pulled
her. Maybe it was the tendonitis she's been battling this
season — maybe not. It was hard to tell what it was.
It was too bad she came off the floor. It would have been
so sweet for her to get that triple-double. As it was, she
finished with 9 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists. Not a bad
stat line at all.
It
would have been nice to save a little of this game for LA
or San Antonio, or just about any other West team. Hopefully,
the same kind of intense defense we saw tonight will spill
over into those other games and the Storm can put together
a little run.
Oh,
and hey Katie. Take. The. Shot.
Other
notes:
Fluker
has the Dance Troupe's intro routine down cold. She's good,
too. Apparently, she's been waived by the team. I'm not sure
what to say except for good luck.
The
Mini race around the video screen thing was not tied to any
section tonight. We were just supposed to cheer for our favorite
color. Or something. Odd, and a little sad.
One
of the former ball kids did the Discover Card free throw shoot
out... and got destroyed 8-2. I do give her major props though,
she was a complete professional when she was in charge of
the Storm bench the two years Angie and I sat down there.
She just doesn't have a very good free throw shot apparently.
The
Dance Troupe's moves are getting a little... uncomfortable
again.
The
refs sucked. But that's like saying the Sun is bright or frozen
Nitrogen is cold. It is was it is.
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