Archive for September, 2010

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Around the Web: Sept. 11

Saturday, September 11th, 2010

The eve of the WNBA Finals is also a day that will always hold special meaning in this country.

Storm coach Brian Agler, Atlanta coach Marynell Meadors renew their rivalry – Jayda Evans, Seattle Times

So, when Agler needed Camille Little to help his depth in the post, Meadors worked a deal, ending up with a draft choice that landed coveted point guard Shalee Lehning. When Meadors wanted former Storm forward Iziane Castro Marques to complement Brazilian countrywoman Erika de Souza as the 2008 expansion team’s building blocks, she worked with Agler to pull together a three-team deal with Detroit so Agler could nab All-Star forward Swin Cash.

Buddies from the college hoops scene in the 1980s and hired by their pro teams in 2008, Agler and Meadors’ squads will play in the best-of-five WNBA Finals beginning Sunday in KeyArena on ABC (KOMO, Channel 4).

Storm raises their flag atop Space Needle for WNBA Finals – Jayda Evans, seattletimes.com Women’s Hoops Blog

“When people think of Seattle, they think of the Needle,” Storm PG Sue Bird said. “Everybody when they come visit, that’s the first ting they ask about and that’s the first thing you see, almost. ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ when they pan the city, what do you see? You see the needle. So, when Joe Schmo New York hears the flag is atop the Space Needle, they’ll understand the importance of that. Kind of like if someone put it at the top of the Empire State Building. That’s what’s really special about it.”

Cash helps carry Storm to Finals – Mechelle Voepel, ESPN.com

After knee problems, back problems and chemistry problems with the coaching staff in Detroit, Cash at one point had to wonder if she’d ever be in this position again: playing for a WNBA championship.

But she is, and once again she’s an integral part of her team. She is also expected to be named to the U.S. national team and take part in the upcoming world championship, playing again for UConn coach Geno Auriemma.

Le’coe Willingham On Her Move to the Storm – Mechelle Voepel, ESPN.com (Video)

Seattle’s Le’coe Willingham, who won a WNBA championship with Phoenix last season, is trying to repeat this year – but with the Storm.

Tanisha Wright On Her Role On the Storm – Mechelle Voepel, ESPN.com (Video)

Seattle Storm player Tanisha Wright talks about her comfort level in the backcourt during her WNBA career.

Sue Bird the Calm in Seattle Storm – Michelle Smith, Fanhouse.com

Not a reluctant one, exactly. But Bird definitely lives on the low-key end of the superstar spectrum.

She is even-keel. She is steady. She is reliable and calm and collected.

She is, she says, what she’s always been.

Swin Cash Back in the WNBA Finals – Frank Della Femina, WNBA.com

WNBA.com: The Dream has a similar style of play to that of the Phoenix Mercury. That fast, up-tempo style. Having played against Phoenix in the Conference Finals, are you noticing any similarities between the two?

SC: “For us, one of the best things that could’ve happened to us was playing against a team like Phoenix because to see their speed and their aggressiveness and their attack mentality on the offensive end is very similar to Atlanta. We were able to watch that game film and seeing what we did that was good and see what we did that we need to work on. Atlanta has a little bit more speed on the perimeter but their style of play is very similar.”

WNBA Finals notebook – Pierce W. Huff, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Those elements are why many people consider the Dream the underdogs as the teams start their series Sunday in Seattle, but Dream players and coaches don’t mind the label.

The Dream, who had the fourth and final seed in the Eastern Conference, swept top-seeded Washington in the conference semifinals and No. 2-seeded New York in the conference finals.

“I think everybody has overlooked us all season,” backup guard Shalee Lehning said. “We love that.”

Here’s Sue Bird on King5.com talking about the Storm’s flag being raised above the Space Needle. Visit King5.com for more video interviews from yesterday morning.

Posted in 2010 WNBA Finals, in the media | Comments Off

Storm Maintains Focus Leading Up to Finals

Friday, September 10th, 2010

The WNBA Finals are just two days away, but you wouldn’t know it from the business-as-usual mentality during the Seattle Storm’s practice at Seattle Pacific University. Afterward, Lauren Jackson went through her usual shooting drills while Svetlana Abrosimova and Abby Bishop played members of the practice squad 2-on-2. Swin Cash and Tanisha Wright competed to see who could score the most often 1-on-1 against teammate Ashley Robinson, trading barbs and trash talk in the process.

“There’s going to be so much intensity in practice,” said Cash. “It’s good to get your shots up and still be able to enjoy it, have a little competition after practice. Keeps you loose.”

That’s the goal from a Storm team that doesn’t want to lose the focused mentality that has been so successful all season long. Cash, a veteran of three Finals and two championships in Detroit, knows how to approach playing on the league’s biggest stage.

“I try to keep the same in regards to what I’ve done all season long,” she said, “but obviously there’s more of a focus and you try to minimize distractions. I understand what it takes to get it done and the intensity level that’s going to come with the play on the floor. You just prepare yourself for that.”

Cash has been good about sharing her experience with teammates like Wright who are here for the first time.

“She’s really good at letting us know about keeping the distractions at a minimum, trying to stay as relaxed as possible, focused at the task at hand,” said Wright. “You’re not really thinking about the whole picture but taking it one step at a time.”

Still, it’s impossible to completely ignore the hoopla that surrounds the WNBA Finals, like the event Friday morning during which Storm players and coached raised a flag atop Seattle’s Space Needle.

“Any time you get to the Finals or play in Final Fours in college or in Europe, every time you get to the finals, there’s a vibe, a feel surrounding it,” explained Sue Bird. “Even though you do think business as usual, you’re very aware of the other things that are happening around you. It makes it very exciting, but at times it can make it hard to focus, so you have to do a good job of remembering why you’re there.”

“It’s a feeling that I’ve never had before, so there’s definitely excitement,” added Wright. “At the same time, if you get this close, you want to take it all. You don’t want to leave anything for thought. You want to go out there, give it your all, and hopefully you’ll be hoisting a trophy at the end.”

Ultimately, that’s the thought that drives the Storm. Though the team has already accomplished a great deal this season, there’s one enormous goal left in sight.

“It’s a unique situation,” said Head Coach Brian Agler. “It’s why you’re in the business as a coach and a player. You’re in the business to get these opportunities. Both teams have had really great seasons to this point, and I think both teams want to finish it off the right way.”

“The mentality changes,” noted Jackson, “just because you want to win a championship. We’re just looking forward to it. I think everyone’s going to go in preparing the same as every other game this season; it’s just there’s a lot more weighing on it.”

Posted in 2010 WNBA Finals, practice notes | 1 Comment »

Robinson Headed Down Under

Friday, September 10th, 2010

Storm center Ashley Robinson is headed to Australia this offseason. The WNBL’s Dandenong Jayco Rangers announced today that they have signed Robinson to join Storm teammate Abby Bishop on their roster. Bishop helped make the connection between player and team.

“It just happened randomly,” Robinson explained. “She said her team was looking for a center. I said, ‘I’ll go play.’ She talked to her coach; I’m on the team now. I’m excited. I think it will be a lot of fun. We get to be teammates for a whole year.”

Bishop is new to the Rangers, who play in a suburb just outside of Melbourne. She changed teams as a free agent after teaming with Lauren Jackson to lead the Canberra TransACT Capitals to a second consecutive WNBL Championship. Now, Bishop has a new Storm teammate, and the two post players’ skills should complement each other.

“We’re going to try to do a little high-low,” joked Robinson. “Let Abby shoot her threes. I’ll grab the rebounds if she ever misses.”

Robinson, who has played in Turkey and Spain and spent last offseason at home in her native Dallas, is looking forward to enjoying a new continent – just from indoors.

“I’m excited about going to Australia,” she said. “Spring and summer weather, so that will be fun. I don’t know that I’ll be doing too much outdoorsy stuff, because I watch TV and I know they have the snakes, and the sharks and the spiders, so I’ll be inside while I’m there.”

Posted in overseas, robinson | Comments Off

Around the Web: Sept. 10

Friday, September 10th, 2010

Camille Little has filled gap in the middle for Storm – Jayda Evans, Seattle Times

Storm coach Brian Agler knew Little was a gem. He helped developed her game while an assistant at San Antonio her rookie season.

“She sort of got lost in the shuffle, basically,” said Agler, who traded Seattle’s 2009 second-round draft pick to Atlanta for Little. “It wasn’t the right fit for her at that time.”

Why Lisa Leslie Picked the Storm to Win it All – Nate Parham, SBN Seattle

Beyond their trio of All-Stars three, part of what has made the Storm so difficult to play beat this season is their depth beyond those three. As Storm coach Brian Agler has noted, both the Storm and their WNBA Finals opponent Atlanta Dream are well aware that beyond the star players are other players to worry about. One player that has sort of flown under the radar for portions of this season is Storm forward Camille Little.

“I think Camille Little has improved her game so much and she just finds a way to get buckets,” said Leslie. “She’s not even on your radar and, boom, there you go: offensive board to Camille Little.”

Things Have ‘Changed a Lot’ Since Regular Season Series with Dream – Nate Parham, SBN Seattle

Although Agler said he considers their head-to-head meetings with the Dream as useful to look at these sort of matchups, he isn’t putting much stock in the outcomes.

“I think both teams have changed a lot since the very first meeting,” said Agler. “The meeting down there was sort of a strange game from the standpoint of they jumped on us quick and I think they got — when we subbed in — I think they got disinterested a little bit and didn’t play as well as they’re capable of playing. And we know they’re a much better team than what we saw down there in Atlanta.”

WNBA Finals matchup analysis: Dream and Storm share strengths, but the Storm has an edge – Q McCall, SwishAppeal.com

So what makes this series interesting is that both teams essentially share the same strength relative to their opponents: offensive rebounding percentage. However, as Agler has alluded to early in the season, what the Dream do so well is force turnovers and get out in transition for easy fast break points off of turnovers. As one observer said, there’s nothing complicated about the Dream’s transition game — it’s a mass of athleticism going right to the rim on the first attempt and crashing the boards for second and even third attempts.

How Brian Agler is Scouting the Dream – Q McCall, SwishAppeal.com

He’ll do something similar as he prepares for the Atlanta Dream in the WNBA Finals, this time using the Dream’s first round opponent as the case study.

“Washington a little bit — Washingon, they’re sort of like us in a lot of way,” said Agler. “So we’ll watch the playoff games.”

Not that the Mystics are at all as dominant as the Storm, but there was a bit of similarity in their regular season performance worth noting.

What are the odds of the Dream sweeping the Storm? – Petrel, SwishAppeal.com

The Massey Ratings webpage claims that home court advantage is 2.76 points.  But is the advantage at Key Arena equal to the one at Philips Arena?  Really? The great thing about the Massey Ratings web page is that it gives an individualized home court advantage for each team.  Seattle’s home court advantage is the best in the WNBA:  it is listed at 6.28 points.  (Connecticut is second with 5.71.)

As for Atlanta?  According to Massey Ratings, Atlanta has the worst home field advantage: one of -0.63.  All in all, Atlanta’s opponents gained one point playing at Philips Arena.  Only Los Angeles at -0.35 and Chicago at -0.30 had negative home field advantages.

Two Ends Meet: How Seattle and Atlanta Got This Far – Clay Kallam, Slamonline.com

The Storm were 22-2 on July 30, and then lost interest in the project. Brian Agler, deservedly Coach of the Year, rested his key players and set things up for the postseason – which worked pretty well, as Seattle swept both Los Angeles and Phoenix en route to the Finals.

In fact, the statistical profile of the Storm for its four-game playoff run is eerily similar to what it was at the end of that 22-2 start. The average margin of victory is almost exactly the same, and so is the excellent defensive field-goal percentage. What really jumps out, though, is rebounding: Seattle gets about seven more rebounds a game than its opponents.

The latest Storm player on Northwest Sports Tonight was post Le’coe Willingham.

Posted in 2010 Playoffs, in the media | Comments Off

Around the Web: Sept. 9

Thursday, September 9th, 2010

Storming ahead: Seattle’s winning team – Anthony B. Robinson, Crosscut

Two weeks ago I ventured off my usual turf here at Crosscut to write about Seattle sports. I focused on the Mariners, Seahawks and football Huskies, arguably the “big three” of Seattle sports. I lamented their lack of leadership. Recent events (Seahawks’ shuffle, Mariners’ prevarications, and Huskies’ inability to win in the fourth quarter) seem only to have confirmed those observations.

But a fair number of readers called attention, quite rightly, to my sins of omission. I had failed to mention other Seattle pro teams, most especially Seattle’s WNBA team, the Storm, which on Sunday (Sept. 5) swept into the WNBA finals with a very impressive come-from-behind win in Phoenix. The Storm is in the midst of a year in which its regular season record (28–6) established a new high for the best single season winning percentage in Seattle pro sports. With an .824 winning percentage, they surpassed the 2005 Seahawks (13–3, .813).

Upstart Dream face favorite Storm – Mechelle Voepel, ESPN.com

“What they’ve done is pretty unbelievable, especially now because the league is so tough,” said veteran guard Ticha Penicheiro, whose Los Angeles Sparks were the first domino to fall for Seattle in the postseason. “It shows what kind of players they have, and their coaching staff has done a tremendous job. It shows the value of keeping your core together.”

The two-player core of Lauren Jackson and Sue Bird dates back to 2002, when top draft pick Bird joined Jackson in her second WNBA season. Tanisha Wright was drafted in 2005. Swin Cash joined the Storm via trade before the 2008 season began, then another deal brought Camille Little during that summer.

Finals Notebook – Mel Greenburg, Wom Hoops Guru

In a pre-game chat with Atlanta Dream coach Marynell Meadors on the sidelines in New York before Sunday night’s WNBA Eastern Conference finals opener in Madison Square Garden with the New York Liberty, the Guru noted to her, “You can be the `Zelig’ if women’s basketball.

“Yeah, I guess I’ve seen it all,” Meadors laughed while turning to tell Dream owner Kathy Betty how far back she and the Guru go in time.

Continuing Storm Week on Northwest Cable News, color analyst Adia Barnes was last night’s guest.

Posted in 2010 Playoffs, in the media | Comments Off

Around the Web: Sept. 8

Wednesday, September 8th, 2010

Coverage of the newly set WNBA Finals matchup between the Storm and the Atlanta Dream.

Seattle Storm will face Atlanta Dream in WNBA Finals – Jayda Evans, Seattle Times

The last time Seattle faced an undefeated Atlanta, it was a month into the season. But even then, Storm forward Lauren Jackson sensed her team’s strongest contender for WNBA title would be the Dream.

She was right.

Storm finds out WNBA Finals opponent – Todd Dybas, seattlepi.com

Making a loud statement on Tuesday night, the Atlanta Dream clarified the other half of the WNBA Finals with a 105-93 trouncing of New York.

The Dream swept the three-game series 2-0, setting up Sunday’s opener against the Storm. Game 1 is at noon in KeyArena and will be on ABC.

Athletic Atlanta to test Storm – Mechelle Voepel, ESPN.com

However, the Dream have raced through the playoffs, first sweeping the No. 1 seed, Washington, and now the No. 2, New York. In the four games, Atlanta has averaged 95.5 points.

“They might be the most athletic team in the league,” Seattle coach Brian Agler said of the Dream after watching the conclusion of the East finals. “What makes them so difficult to defend is they have great size around the basket, they’re one of the best rebounding teams.

Dream ride McCoughtry magic to Finals – Mechelle Voepel, ESPN.com

Long before draft day 2009, Atlanta Dream coach and GM Marynell Meadors was sure whom she wanted to pick. When she was asked about it during the college season, she didn’t just come flat out and say the name. But everything she described about the player she wanted made you think, “She has to be talking about Angel McCoughtry, right?”

She was. Meadors didn’t totally tip her hand, but she might as well have. While there was outside speculation that she might go a different direction, Meadors never altered course.

Finals Preview: Seattle Storm vs. Atlanta Dream – Frank Della Femina, WNBA.com

Even though the Dream touts a highly focused, up-tempo offense, there’s nothing that says the Storm isn’t prepared to counter with its well-disciplined defense. That much is evident from the Western Conference Finals, a series in which the Storm played against a similar style in the run-and-gun Mercury.

Destiny Takes Seattle and Atlanta to WNBA Finals – Mel Greenburg, Wom Hoops Guru

Way back in the spring when the calendar flipped into June the Atlanta Dream had become hot news and arrived in Seattle with a 6-0 record to meet the Storm that was 5-1 after a loss to Chicago along the way.

It was a chuckled thought that maybe the matchup might be a preview of the 2010 WNBA best-of-five championship series.

McCoughtry Powers Atlanta’s WNBA Finals Dream Into Reality – Milton Kent, Fanhouse.com

Two and a half weeks ago, the Atlanta Dream was reeling, having dropped six of their final seven games to close the WNBA regular season, looking to all like a prime candidate to get bounced from the first round of the playoffs.

A lineup adjustment here, a few days off there and the Dream suddenly find themselves in the Finals, with a 105-93 win over the New York Liberty in Atlanta Tuesday to complete a sweep of the best-of-three Eastern Conference championship series.

WNBA Finals Set: Who Are You Rooting For? – Q McCall, SwishAppeal.com

It’s hard to imagine that many people thought the fourth-seeded Atlanta Dream would reach the WNBA Finals.

It’s also probably safe to say that nobody expected them to get to the Finals without losing a playoff game.

Storm Head Coach Brian Agler on with NBA TV’s Gametime last night to preview the Finals:

Forward Camille Little joined Paul Silvi on Northwest Sports Tonight:

Posted in 2010 Playoffs, in the media | Comments Off

Storm Will Face Atlanta

Tuesday, September 7th, 2010

With a 105-93 win in Tuesday’s Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Atlanta Dream won the East and advanced to a WNBA Finals matchup against the Storm. Just like Seattle, Atlanta will enter the WNBA Finals undefeated in the playoffs. The No. 4 seed in the competitive Eastern Conference, the Dream earned Game 1 wins on the road against No. 1 seed Washington and No. 2 seed New York before returning home to finish the series off.

Atlanta has become the fastest expansion team ever to reach the WNBA Finals, doing so in just its third season of existence. The Storm was previously the fastest, reaching the WNBA Finals (and winning) in year five. The Dream turned things quickly after winning just four games in its inaugural season and reached the playoffs in 2009 before breaking through this postseason.

Second-year forward Angel McCoughtry leads Atlanta. McCoughtry finished sixth in MVP voting and has been outstanding in the playoffs, including a career-high 42 points earlier tonight to outduel Cappie Pondexter, who scored 36 in a losing effort. Former Storm guard Iziane Castro Marques has emerged as a key player for the Dream. She was voted to the team of WNBA stars that played in The Stars at the Sun this season and averaged a career-high 16.9 points per game.

Game 1 of the WNBA Finals will be played Sunday at 12 noon at KeyArena. Get your tickets now!

Posted in 2010 WNBA Finals | 1 Comment »

Willingham Goes Through Practice

Tuesday, September 7th, 2010

Storm center Le’coe Willingham, who sat out the fourth quarter of Sunday’s Game 2 in Phoenix after rolling her right ankle late in the third period, participated as the Storm returned to practice Tuesday at Seattle Pacific University.

“I did the whole practice,” she said. “We didn’t go as hard. It’s a little sore, but in a couple of days it will be fine.”

Willingham said the injury wasn’t as bad as when she sprained her left ankle at the US Airways Center on Aug. 20 in the penultimate game of the regular season. She missed the Storm’s game the next day but was back in the lineup when the Storm started the playoffs on Aug. 25. Willingham initially hoped to return to Sunday’s game.

“I tried, but I didn’t want to go out there and hurt my team if I know I’m not going to be able to push off 100 percent,” she said. “It was just one of those things where it was pretty sore when I first did it and it swelled up pretty good.”

WELCOMING COMMITTEE

When the Storm arrived at Sea-Tac International Airport on Sunday night after the game, players and coaches were greeted by more than 200 fans who congratulated them on sweeping the Mercury and reaching the WNBA Finals for the second time in franchise history. Players were impressed by the support. Willingham remembered a similar gathering when the Mercury returned for Game 5 of last year’s WNBA Finals, but not the same number of people. Sue Bird, meanwhile, was clearly moved by the turnout.

“That was awesome,” she said. “I’ve told friends and family back home about it, people from Connecticut about it. You don’t see that very often. That was really special for them to greet us. When we got off the plane, the security guard was telling us, ‘There’s 100 people there.’ And there really was. It was great to get that support.”

VERY TRENDY

After hitting the game-winning shot on Sunday, Bird became a “trending topic” on Twitter – one of the most popular subjects of tweets around the world.

“I’m not a tweeter, so I really didn’t know what that meant at first,” she said. “I had to get educated about it. It’s pretty cool. People are talking about you.”

The Storm players who are on Twitter – @MissARob43 and @SwinCash – got Bird up to speed. Among the people tweeting about Bird were two members of the “Big Three” of the NBA’s Miami Heat.

Posted in 2010 Playoffs, practice notes | 6 Comments »

Video of the Comeback

Tuesday, September 7th, 2010

Thanks to the good folks at WNBA.com for putting together a video featuring every Storm score during the 15-0 run to win the game, spliced together with postgame comments and inside-the-huddle footage. See how the Storm came from behind:

If you want to watch the ABC broadcast in its entirety, it is now archived on LiveAccess. Click on the September tab to bring it up.

Posted in 2010 Playoffs, a finish that defies belief | 1 Comment »

Around the Web: Sept. 7

Tuesday, September 7th, 2010

The Storm had a well-deserved day off yesterday but returns to practice today in preparation for Game 1 of the WNBA Finals. Oh, there was some kind of comeback to win Sunday’s game, and some sort of big shot. Some people wrote articles about it.

Bird’s three-pointer sends Storm to WNBA Finals - Jayda Evans, Seattle Times

PHOENIX — There was doubt.

The Storm players wouldn’t be human if they hadn’t looked up at the scoreboard, seen a 19-point deficit beaming back and wondered: Can we possibly come back again? Is this Western Conference finals game against the defending WNBA champion Phoenix Mercury where the second-half magic fades?

Not a chance.

Fourth quarter becomes Storm guard Sue Bird’s calling card – Jayda Evans, Seattle Times

Watching the play materialize before him, Storm coach Brian Agler remained calm.

“Not surprised,” he said of the shot. Agler was the only member of the Storm organization who wasn’t hoarse after the 91-88 win. Bird’s shot was all teammates could talk about.

Beyond Bird’s Shot: How Did the Storm Come Back to Defeat the Mercury? – Nate Parham, SBN Seattle

In the end, it was Cash — who might have been obscured again by Bird and Taurasi while remaining one of the league’s fiercest competitors — who quietly went about her business of earning the largest chunk of credit for the Storm’s victory.

Why the Storm’s WCF Comeback is the Best Way to Understand Their Season-Long ‘Resilience’ – Q McCall, SwishAppeal.com

After the Seattle Storm’s 19-point comeback to win the Western Conference Finals 91-88, more than one person was left wondering, “Wait – what happened?”

In fact, nobody seemed to have more than a vaguer-than-usual recollection of what happened — in an interview with local television station King 5, forward Swin Cash indicated that she didn’t even know how they managed to cut the lead to two. The Mercury just seemed to be in complete control.

Breaking Down Sue Bird’s Game-Winning Shot (w/Pics) – Seth Pollack, SwishAppeal.com

To quickly recap, the game was tied at 88 with the Storm in possession and about 23 seconds on the clock. Bird had just blocked Temeka Johnson’s shot and rebounded the ball on the other end to keep the game tied.

Yes, Sue Bird got a crucial end of game block and rebound. That doesn’t happen every day. Making a clutch three, however, is very much expected. Here’s how it went down.

Former Huskies had biggest impact – Mechelle Voepel, ESPN.com

Taurasi made spectacular shots look routine, as she’s known for. Cash played with that fierce sense of purpose, as she’s known for. And Bird came through in the clutch, as she’s know for.

Seattle advanced to the WNBA finals with a come-from-way-behind, all-guts 91-88 victory in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals. Another scintillating chapter in post-collegiate UConn Huskies lore? You better believe it was.

Bird saves the Storm a lot of worry – Mechelle Voepel

Sunday afternoon, on what was not a very good shooting day for her, Bird still made the big shot. How big was her 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds left? I’d say it went a long way toward Seattle securing the franchise’s second WNBA title. It was very, very big.

By giving the Storm a 91-88 victory over Phoenix and ending the Western Conference finals series at 2-0, Bird did herself and her teammates a huge favor. No overtime to further drain them. No loss to force a Game 3. No anxious trip back to Seattle. No listening to the Mercury keep insisting – probably successfully – that all the pressure was on the Storm.

WNBA’s female owners open door, but what is next step? – Vicki Michealis, USA Today

Los Angeles and Washington were eliminated in the first round, by Seattle and Atlanta, respectively. Atlanta hosts New York in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals today. Seattle advanced to the WNBA Finals by ousting defending champion Phoenix in the Western Conference finals. If either Seattle or Atlanta were to win the title, it would be the first under female majority ownership in the WNBA, founded in 1996.

“We’re making the statement,” says Dawn Trudeau, 52, chairwoman of the Storm ownership group, “that we’re just as capable of being successful.”

Phoenix Mercury’s season ends with Game 2 loss to Seattle – Jeff Metcalfe, the Arizona Republic

The Mercury, leading 88-76 with 3:21 left after an off balance 3-pointer by Diana Taurasi trying to draw a foul, seemed a lock for their first win in seven tries vs. the Storm. A raucous crowd of 9,010 at US Airways Center sensed the kill and the anticipation of a decisive Game 3 in the Western Conference Finals on Wednesday.

Instead the Storm showed why they are a combined 32-6 in the regular season and playoffs with a 15-0 game-ending run for a 91-88 victory.

King 5 was there as Storm fans greeted the team at Sea-Tac Airport for its return from Phoenix on Sunday night.

Also, Coach Agler was a guest on Northwest Sports Tonight with Paul Silvi yesterday. For more Storm video, check out King5.com.

Posted in 2010 Playoffs, in the media | Comments Off

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »