Final score: Storm 73 – Silver Stars 80 (L) (10-8)

Submitted by sbirdie10

I wasnt nearly as excited as I usually am b/c Sue wasnt here. I definitely wondered how T would do in Sue's place. But when the Storm are in town theres always excitement. And it was kind of fitting that they are here since its been storming and raining for as long as I can remember.

My work catered for the Silver Stars today and I was hoping it would have no effect on them for the game. Well turns out the food did them good. Good for my work, bad for the Storm. Yes, I would like to say that the food may have helped them in some way.

Anyways, as always when the Storm come down here, heres my game report:

Buescher started off lightning quick. She has stepped up big time in the absence of Becky Hammon. Izi hit a couple of 3s which was promising. T was playing pretty decent. LJ was not getting any touches. When someone would try to pass the ball to her, it would be forced, a SS player would tip it, and that resulted in a broken play or a turnover. The SS were playing GREAT D on LJ. They had her number dialed in tonight. And if anyone would have told me that LJ would have 0 points at the end of the 1st, I would have said you were crazy. But thats exactly what happened.

End of 1st: 14-22

2nd quarter started like the 1st, forced passes down to LJ resulting in turnovers. I was praying someone else would step up. Sue's out, LJ was a non-factor thus far, Betty had only 2 points. We needed another scorer. Defense was kind of sluggish, lead up to 12, AD not at all happy. Timeout. After that timeout T hit about 3 shots in a row. I was shocked but glad. LJ had only about a 2 minute rest. We needed her on the floor. The paint on offense was SUPER clogged. Nobody was getting in there without some sort of contact or getting in at all. LJ finally got a tiny bit of daylight on the perimeter and drained a 3 for her 1st points with 4 mins left in the half. Right after I noted that Crossley had been quiet compared to the last games, she nailed a 3. We got a stop to end the half which is just what we needed.

Halftime: 25-42

Izi got subbed out a minute and half into the 3rd quarter and I think didnt return after that. She was no match for Buescher, but then again apparently no one was b/c she had 27 points. At this point I looked up at the scoreboard and saw the turnover comparison. Theres definitely no need to repeat that disparity. Then all of a sudden the lead is blown to 22. Not good. Just like the last time the Storm were here. Katie was great in the middle of the 3rd. Her hitting shots and being aggressive is what I had been waiting to see all season. Oh, I just want to mention how quick of a trigger Crossley has. Holy crap I didnt know exactly how quick she pulls it sometimes. Shes so quick off of screens. Anyways, the lead got cut to 14 and I was hoping we could get it to single digits before the quarter ended. The lead soon got cut to 9 with some good D and Betty hitting a 3. I was really into the game now. I loved the comeback and that we FINALLY showed some life. I really really wanted us to keep this up in the 4th.

End of 3rd: 49-58

During the break everyone was really confident and encouraging. Outside it was just raining, but inside it started raining 3s! Everyone was hitting! Our defense was really good and aggressive at the beginning. The SS shot clock almost always went below 5 secs which resulted in forced shots. I remember this b/c it seemed like every time down the court this one lady by me yelled, "Shoot the ball!!" Lead cut to 8. Then LJ had a steal and T made a layup which cut the lead to 5 with 2:30 remaining. I so wanted us to get over the hump and pull the game out. So bad. Then Buescher hit a lucky 3 when the shot clock expired. That was the first dagger. I still had hope until VJ stole an inbounds pass which pretty much totally crushed any that was left. That was the final dagger.

Final Score: 73-80

Too little too late. But great comeback. I am unbelievably impressed at how T played! She led the team with 23 points and only 2 turnovers! I hope she keeps this up until Sue comes back.

The game was fun (a lot better than last game), but still was a bummer to not see Sue play. I hope she has a fast recovery.

I did notice quite a few Stormfans right behind the bench. Was that anybody? I was sitting behind it also, but a little further back than I usually sit, in the first row of the upper level. If you saw a girl with a Storm 'ship shirt walk over and sit by the rail with a little over a minute left to show my support for them, that was me.

Well next time the Storm come, I very much hope for a victory. It seems like it has been a long time since that has happened.

Page 2