Final
score: Storm 75 – Fever 64 (W) (1-2 preseason)
Attendance
|
5475
Anthem
Watch | I don't actually remember it, I was
fiddling with my camera.
Fan
Psyche | This whole Swoopes thing comes
with some side effects, doesn't it.
Game
Highlight | Offensive rebounds a-plenty. That's
not really a single highlight, but how often have the Storm's
offensive rebound total been higher than their defensive rebound
total? Right - never.
Halftime
| Kids playing basketball
SF.O
Keyword of the Game | Let's get this
thing started for real.
Game
Photos
| Scott
E | Rick
You
can't ever really take preseason games seriously since the
rotations are never real, we still have missing players and
the coaches still have tough decisions to make about personnel
cuts. With that in mind, I'm not going to focus much on the
game itself — it was choppy and sloppy at times and
there were flashes of brilliance — but instead focus
on my take on those bubble players who are fighting for a
roster spot.
First
off, here are my assumed roster locks:
Swin
Cash — she looked great out there tonight.
When she was originally signed to the team, I had my hesitations.
I now think that by the end of the season she is going to
be our number 2 scorer and defender, behind only LJ. With
the signing of both Swoopes and Griffith, Cash is out of the
limelight and is almost a forgotten player. All of the attention
will be on those other two along with LJ and Sue. Swin has
the opportunity to be our secret weapon of sorts and the one
who gets open when the defense collapses on LJ/Yo/Swoopes.
Sheryl
Swoopes — this might get me in trouble, but
signing Swoopes has been Coach Agler's biggest gamble by far.
Her presence on the court presents a constant scoring threat
that the opponents can't ignore, but she's also made of glass
right now. In each of the preseason games she's played, she
has come out with some new minor injury. Tonight she fell
and appeared to hurt her wrist/elbow. She brings so much more
than court time, however, and we've already seen her working
the younger players like an assistant coach. Hopefully, she'll
avoid any major injuries and can play through the constant
minor ones and continue to be that threat on the court.
Yolanda
Griffith — she too is another assistant coach...
who can kick ass. When she wasn't in ruling the offensive
boards, he was constantly talking to Katie Gearlds and Kelly
Santos during the game. Yo got knocked around quite a bit,
but shook it off every time and got right back in the game.
She missed a few chippies, but that's not a big deal when
she is so good at following her shot and picking up the rebound.
With Janell Burse sitting out this season, Yolanda will be
responsible for more court time, but if she can also teach
Ashley and Kelly a few things I don't think we'll be hurting
at that position.
Sue
Bird and Lauren Jackson — next to the definition
of "roster spot lock" are pictures of these two.
I can guarantee rioting and looting if they aren't on the
team.
Next
group, my "I'd be shocked as hell if they got cut"
group:
Ashley
Robinson — she looked more confident than ever.
She played a solid game on both ends of the court. She wasn't
hesitating with her shot. Whatever minor drama was going on
before training camp concerning where she might play this
season, she looked happy to be here. And really, how can you
blame her? She has the opportunity to learn from a couple
legends of the game and you can already see their impact.
I think A-Rob is going to get more playing time this season
overall as she and Yo share the center minutes and she will
be one of the lynch pins for the bench. This is going to be
an exciting season for Ashley.
Shrya
Ely — another player who is showing a ton of
improvment over last season. Her shot wasn't on target tonight,
but her defensive effort certainly was. I wouldn't be surprised
if Coach Agler didn't tell her that with all the offensive
power we have on the team that her primary goal this season
is to be a defensive force. She had a couple blocks, a steal
and a handful of rebounds tonight in the box score. Add in
the fact that Coach Agler has a history with her and I think
she's on the team.
Kelly
Santos — not because of her play tonight, although
she did okay, but more because the team needs size and a bruiser
and she offers both. With Janell out, Santos is a near-lock.
She reminds me a bit of Ashley when she joined the team —
eager but hesitant, moldable. Given who she will be playing
with, I can see that she might progress pretty quickly and
be a solid bench contributor.
Katie
Gearlds — I'd heard that she might be on the
bubble, but after last night she definitely moved up on the
list. She was quiet in the first half, but in the second when
she was playing power forward (not a typo, she was guarding
Alison Bales and doing a fantastic job of it as long as she
kept Bales out of the paint), Katie had stretches when she
was the go-to player for the Storm and delivered. She looked
comfortable and not intimidated at all by her legendary teammates
or when she was asked to guard Bales. She's on the team.
The
bubble players, six fighting for three spots:
Tanisha
Wright — she had the most playing time of any
Storm player tonight. Having missed most of the preseason
and training camp, I'm sure the coaches wanted to be able
to get as much evaluation time on her as they could. Overall,
she was fair. On the plus side, she was more aggressive and
assertive than last season. She looks to have lost some weight
and toned up a bit. She wasn't afraid to shoot the ball. On
the negative side, she allowed herself to get trapped a lot,
she was yelling at her teammates way too much for someone
who just got to camp and wasn't always making good point guard
decisions. Ah, there it is once again. She's not a freakin'
point guard. The coaches need to stop forcing her into that
position. Until they allow her to play her natural shooting
guard spot she's going to have these problems. I think she's
probably on the team, but there's some room for doubt.
Kimberly
Beck — I liked Beck. She was quick. She looked
and played like a traditional point guard — assist first,
score second. The main knock against her is her size. She's
a wee little thing and I don't know how she'd stack up against
the big guards in the league.
Daphanie
Kennedy — Betty Lennox Jr. She only got about
5 minutes on the court, which could either mean she's in and
the coaches didn't need to see more of her or she's out and
the coaches didn't need to see more of her. She had a pretty
spectacular drive and score, but with only 5 minutes that's
about it. Oh, and she picked up 3 fouls... in 5 minutes.
Kristen
O'Neill — tough call, but with how well Katie
played tonight it's not looking good for O'Neill. She does
give the team more size for the 2 guard and those of us who
watched her at UW know she's a solid defender. It would be
great for a hometown player to make the team, but I unfortunately
don't think this is O'Neill's year.
Doneeka
Hodges-Lewis — I don't know. She didn't make
a big impression either way. She's got more league experience
which instantly gives her an advantage over Beck, Kennedy
and O'Neill, but I didn't really see anything that said to
me she is going to be making the team.
Roneeka
Hodges — not to be lame, but ditto. She didn't
make a big impression.
My
guess? I think Wright, Hodges-Lewis and Hodges make the team.
Beck, O'Neill and Kennedy get waived. I think Coach Agler
will follow form and go with the experienced players over
the rookies. Although Beck and O'Neill showed a lot more energy
than the Hodgeses, Agler is looking for a championship this
year and will go with the "safe" route instead of
gambling on youth and energy.
Other
notes:
"Everybody
Clap You Hands" — or not. Or maybe once or twice
a game, not every three minutes.
The
new owners were a bit like rock stars. Every time someone
spotted one of them, it was like, "Look! Look!, It's
an owner!" I can't wait for opening night and their official
introduction. As the kids say, it's going to be off the hook.
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