Final
score: Storm 89 – Fever 75 (W) (13-12)
Attendance
|
8052
Anthem
Watch | A cello player. Resonant, but she
seemed to want to play another song half way through.
Fan
Psyche | Nice to see the bench play so well
down the stretch... oh wait, that was the Indiana bench. Ours
still sucks.
Game
Highlight | LJ hits 4000.
Halftime
| Women of Inspiration.
SF.O
Keyword of the Game | Aussie, Aussie, Aussie,
M, V, P.
Game
Photos |
Rick
| Scott
L | Scott
E
We
got to see two games tonight. The first lasted about 2.5 quarters
and saw the Storm double up the Fever to the score of 70-35.
The second game developed in the last 1.5 quarters in which
the Fever outscored the Storm 40-19.
The
first game was fun.
The
second game was not.
You
may ask what it matters since the Storm so utterly dominated
early on and had kicked the score out so far that it didn't
really matter what the Fever did. A win is a win.
I
might agree if lackluster bench play wasn't the norm. Unfortunately
it is. Tonight was particularly galling as the Fever bench
totally schooled the Storm bench. The Indiana players never
gave up on the game. They brough energy, intensity and took
advantage of the extended playing time they received. You
can't say any of those things about the Storm bench, with
the exception of Wendy.
You
would think that having her lead the bench by example would
be enough. I'm sure that she's doing more than that and is
actively engaged in teaching her young teammates what it means
to be on a WNBA team. So far, it doesn't seem to be sinking
in.
I've
been more and more frustrated, as have many other Storm fans,
in the way the team is wasting the opportunity Lauren has
given them. She is on a whole new level this season, but her
dominating efforts are almost for naught. In too many games,
it seems like she and just a couple other players are the
only ones who give a damn. She has been working her butt off
every game and her team has been letting her down. The Washington
game was only the latest painful example of what I'm describing.
Tonight,
the Storm met LJ half way. The starters, along with Wendy,
came to play and put a hurting on the Catchings-less Fever.
But the team only came half way and let the Fever run wild
late. The Storm survived this one, but they need much, much
more from the bench if they really do expect to go farther
than a couple games in the first round of the playoffs.
It's
unfortunate that the Fever are on such a losing streak without
Catchings. All it is doing is cementing the idea that she
really is that needed on this team. Some people are saying
that she's dropping out of the MVP race. I don't think so.
She's still in it and is looking more valuable with every
Fever loss. If they go on a tear once she gets back, I almost
guarantee she gets the MVP.
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