Final score: Storm 74 – Monarchs 62 (W) (2-0)

Submitted by Norwester

This was an odd game to watch due to it's deja vu. Was there a glitch in the Matrix? It very nearly mirrored the game on Opening Night: little to no effective offense in the first half, followed by finally hitting some shots in the 2nd half and putting the clamps down on defense, leading to victory. It should be noted that it was our defense and control of turnovers in the first half that allowed us to remain in the game even while being severely out-rebounded and shooting like crap, but defense/offense is kind of like the chicken and the egg with the team right now. Our defense often sparks our running offense, but it takes success on the offensive end to really inject intensity into our defense.

Another note on our offense: it sometimes seems like in this "equal opportunity offense" there can be a weakness in that everyone waits for someone else to take charge or make something happen. Now at any time there are 2-3 people (if not more) on the court who can do that. But a lot of the time we get pass-happy. Or our timing is just off, so that when Lauren establishes position on the block, the ball isn't in a position to get to her. Though our post entry passes need work too because that's where a lot of our turnovers came. I'm entirely optimistic in the direction we're headed, but we still need to find a way to keep LJ primarily involved.

So despite the win, this game was very nerve-wracking as a fan. Sure, our veterans are able to stay the course and out-last substantially younger up-and-coming teams like the Sky and now the Monarchs...while at home. But what will going on the road be like? I expect our team will experience some substantial growth on the upcoming road trip. It's clear in my uneducated view that our offense is such that it can't just be picked up in a practice or two, hence our starters are still thinking very hard out there, and in my opinion it's making them a bit tight, which I think explains our abysmal shooting percentages. We're taking the right shots. They have to start falling some time. Hopefully one of these days in the 1st half. Meanwhile who would have ever envisioned the Storm becoming a Grind-It-Out-With-Defense team? Yet here we are.

The refs ( #50, #4 and #8 ) were bad. Let's get this out of the way right now. It was more sapping watching in person than watching on TV, though that could be because I was inured at that point. They would call all kinds of ticky-tack fouls and let obvious stuff go. They were very quick with the offensive-foul call, to the degree that I think Lauren had 4 fouls at one point, and 3 of them were offensive. (No wonder her rhythm was off). They repeatedly botched out-of-bounds/possession calls, and had a hankering for calling turnovers, but only on the actually legal stuff (hitting Brunson at one point for a travel as she executed the legal step-through move DeMya Walker perfected), but again seemed to ignore the more obvious stuff. Whatever. At least it wasn't lopsided; their gaffes were pretty evenly distributed over both teams, so from that perspective I guess you could call them a non-factor.

Rush Cheney (don't quote me on the spelling, I think he's formerly of the Supersonics and Huskies) was sitting up behind Adia and Dick in order to evaluate the officials for this game. They described him as having a "stern look on his face." No doubt. Perhaps the refs were thinking about it being a Nationally Televised game, and felt they had to make it all about them. Who can say? But the result was a game in which there was no real rhythm. It reached the point where the fans were yelling "let them play" whether the calls were against the Monarchs or the Storm. At one point near the end we were going crazy about a ball that appeared to sail over a prone Nicole Powell out of bounds to the Storm, and an abashed Sue was waving her arm trying to calm us saying that she had indeed hit the ball, but it was too late by that point: the refs had used up all of our good will and "benefit of the doubt" long before. Sue may as well have been trying to stop an avalanche with a snow shovel.

Pre-game these days the Arenavision is hopping. Through graphics It gives breakdowns of upcoming game-break contests for the night, and informs you who will be singing the anthem and performing at half-time. Interspersed are commercials by the WNBA and their sponsors, and some team-specific stuff like the "Green Tips" they're giving us this year on reducing our personal carbon footprint, etc. They aren't old yet, but then it's only the 2nd game of the season.

We seemed focused in warm-ups. There was a lot more active coaching going on than I'm used to seeing from the past couple of years. Just an observation, but interesting. Different styles? Or attributable to this being a new system/team for everyone?

It was an evening honoring veterans. Throughout the game during breaks they would show pre-recorded messages from female service-members and veterans. The 56th Army Band of I Corp & Ft. Lewis performed a stellar rendition of the anthem (I loved the drums, the tuba, and the overall texture the variety of instruments gave it). Doug & Rita were the High Five Kids/Jr. Captains, and met up with LJ, Sue, Ticha and Kara at center court.

I forgot that the Monarchs always start the "wrong" way, being a defensively-oriented team, but was reminded (sigh) when I came into the arena. Some visual cues (notably "oi, oi, oi") were added to the fan instructional video; I think they need more of an audio cue to the "clap four times" clip, though; a drum or something; if they already have one it needs to be sharper). Kara and Ticha and Jenny Boo got the most applause in introductions. I like the whip-us-into-a-frenzy-pre-intros video they have; it's well put together. It's a touch difficult to clap along with because of the changing tempos, though. Most fans persevere, anyway. I wonder how it could be made easier, though. I'll think about it.

T started over Swin, Swin having just got into town that morning. We got possession, and immediately Sue scored on an assist from Yo. We were very vocal as a team, pointing and calling out where everyone should be. There were a lot of weak referee whistles early, and T picked up 2 quick fouls forcing Brian to put Swin in (to big cheers), and later allowing Beck to get more significant playing time (yay!). More botched player names: PA Guy messed up Ticha, calling her Tanisha Pinichiero. Sacramento looked fairly sharp early, crashed the boards, and Ticha had a particularly nice assist to Kara for a 3. Franklin was very impressive, and reminded me what some of these talented rookies can do if they actually get playing time <cough>Beck</cough>. She ran Sue down on a fast break off a Swoopes steal to prevent the easy lay-in.

Some more weak fouls, coupled with non-fouls on obvious contact, particularly a "reach in" on Sue that negated an awesome A-rob block along with a stupid out of bounds possession call on our end that earned the refs their first real BOOS of the night. But it was the addition of ticky-tacks on the other end that had us start yelling "let 'em play!" I don't know, is that better or worse than "call it both ways!"? We were expending a lot of energy on defense, only to turn around and waste it on offense. Word of the quarter: frustration. 1Q: 15-14

T started as point guard in the 2nd, and I thought (and said out loud): crap. (Harsh language, no?). And not that I wished it, but she quickly picked up her 3rd foul, offensively (Brian had words to say to Shelly Nakasone about that). Yo got a super cool rebound where she just ran out to the place the ball would come down before it even got there (that's tricksy). The refs called a BS foul on a clean LJ block and I'm thinking "what, they have to make a televised game as boring as possible?" #8 was particularly bad during this stretch. There was no offensive flow for either team due to a whistle every two freaking seconds, though the Monarchs were busting out some impressive post moves. Brunson and Harper both acquitted themselves well, in my opinion...hitting shots, getting rebounds. All the things I wished we were doing. The happiest things as the half wound down were an A-rob BLOCK of Brunson and Beck's scrappy play (she has to have earned more playing time with that), but other than that things just felt out of sync. I mean, since when can't Sue Bird hang onto the ball? After the buzzer sounded she launched a 50' shot that swooshed in. Story of the half: our timing was just off. There were scattered BOOS to chase the refs from the court, but mostly the crowd wasn't into that. HT: 24-34, Monarchs

Jet City Jumpers at half-time! Those collies are fast man. No little, little dogs or giant dogs this time, but some sweet older retrievers and labs. Also no doggy doo-doo. But I love the dogs! Apparently it is the 10th Anniversary of the group this year.

We began the 2nd half with good defense, but consistently stuttering offense. 3 minutes gone and we were still standing. I was proud that the majority of the fans never wavered as we stood there; it was a good crowd. When the team needed a lift, we'd start cheering to encourage them. I felt we gave the refs an appropriate amount of flack. And as soon as our team did anything right it would get LOUD in there. But it felt like we'd hit rock bottom when LJ blew a wide-open lay-up with 7 minutes to go. Her shoulders dropped as she clearly berated herself while heading back down court. It did not feel good. Less than a minute later Swin finally got a field goal so we could sit down, and the best thing was we were still down by only 10, our defensive pressure having held. We kept it up, and gave our players a ton of love after they forced a shot clock violation! We appreciate defense too.

Things really began to happen at the 3:30 mark. The refs took a long time to decide what to do when it appeared we had a shot-clock violation, but it had been reset. Watching on TV I'm surprised they made the right call. It was across the court from me, and I figured they called it wrong giving the Storm the ball, but I'll take it because on the ensuing in-bounds play Swoopes hit a 3 behind an LJ screen. One of them had to go in some time! 33-38. Follow this up by a block and a Swin lay-in and it was LOUD in there. Until LJ got called for an offensive foul, that honestly could have gone either way as she got hit by several players at once. Really, I'm not advocating home-cooking necessarily, but a call that can go either way, on the reigning MVP on her home court and it goes against her? I may be biased but I don't think it's right. Anyway, that was her 4th: more boos. Then a possession awarded the Monarchs that we didn't agree with where they tried to throw the ball off Swin, but it just went between her legs. The replay really got the boos going on that one. Swin wasn't paying attention and inadvertently drew an 8-second back-court violation, and I didn't even understand the calls going against the Monarchs. 3Q: 39-45

One thing I was happy about was that our team is veteran enough at this point that when the crowd goes bonkers on the refs, they don't appear to let it get to them too much. Part of it may be that Brian is a much stonger (or at least vocal) advocate for them from the sidelines. This was especially clear on TV, since he was mic'ed. Anywhoo, we were headed in the right direction and amused by Sue's interview of LJ, so energy was high to start the 4th. Beck, Yo, Katie, A-rob and Swin started. Katie got us going quickly with a beautiful 3 point shot. This is a weapon we've been missing lately: a confident 3-point shooter who can come off the bench like an assassin. A Swin &1, then an awesome spin move to the basket followed by a quick pass to a wide-open Yo and we were tied @ 47!

We were on our feet and screaming for most of the first 4 minutes of the quarter, as a matter of fact (and much of the next 6). Jump balls, 3 pointers. Sue, Katie. The only nit-pick is that Swin needs to put more mustard on her passes; she had like 3 picked off. Other than that, suddenly we could do no wrong. Even when we were too unselfish with the shot clock running out LJ managed to catch the ball and launch an immediate 3 that went in to put us up 61-51! We were hitting our 3s, though we were still missing chippies. Calls finally started going our way, though. Katie left the game to big cheers with 3 minutes to go. LJ laid Strong out on the court (uh-oh), but she got up and LJ made her free throws (the call going her way this time). In fact the Storm were brilliant from the free throw line this game. Katie got big cheers as she checked out. T came in and almost gave the ball away. Yo left to a standing O: she didn't score much but she's a presence out there. Time was winding down, and Jenny Boo was taking the opportunity to use all of her time-outs to coach her young team as much as possible. Coach Agler was also out there working it hard. And by the end LJ, Sue and Swin each had 17 points. Random fact, but it amused me. We almost scored more points in the 4th quarter than in the 1st halfthree quarters , so I'm optimistic that it will come.

It also amused me that they started playing "Another One Bites the Dust" at the end of the game.

Dick Fain interviewed Katie as Player of the Game. What turned it around? Defensive stops; they were sluggish on offense in the first half, but then started clicking. They talked about rebounds and how we were killed on the boards in the 1st half, but won the 2nd. It was kind of hard to hear because they started the interview while other players were still throwing t-shirts (a pet peeve from other seasons; let's get it together, guys). Katie gave credit to Yo and LJ for cleaning the glass. She modestly said her job was to come off the bench and hit 3s. Dick Fain asked about how they changed their poor 1st-half performance on the road without the home fans; Katie reponded (to cheers) that we do have great fans.

But seriously, how will we do on the road?

I appreciate how much Brian rotates people through, getting everyone plenty of rest. But don't put T in as point guard. I maintain that as shooting guard she has potential.

Run-off:

Does anyone know the song that plays when our players come out for shoot-around pre-game? Acoustics aren't the best, and I don't recognize it, so any help would be appreciated.

1st Timeout: Olympic Trivia, with the winner getting a Discover Card seat upgrade. Our own scullyfu was up against a guy named Sean and got to choose to either answer the question or pass it to Sean. She passed, Sean correctly answered that our starting 5 have won 8 medals (scully later confessed that she'd have answered 10, anyway, so it was moot). My question is: our normal starting five, or the five that started that night?

Between the 1st and 2nd quarters was a rousing game of musical chairs in which this one little boy totally owned Doppler; last chair, just the two of them, and the music stops with the kid behind the chair. He promptly dove over the back of the chair to beat Doppler to the seat! The crowd loved it and cheered and applauded. We could only hope our team showed that much fight the rest of the night.

The Dance Troupe looks tight this year. They are dancing with a lot of energy, they have some cute new outfits, and they're keeping the choreography just interesting enough by tweaking things every time out. Bravo, kids.

Some of the veterans and service members speaking on ArenaVision included an 87 year old pilot who became a Veteran for Peace when The Bomb was dropped, a coast guard woman talking enthusiastically about serving her country and loving her job, a soldier from Ft. Lewis thanking us for our support, then A-rob thanking service-members and veterans for their service, and later a Chief Petty Officer in the Navy extolling the virtues of having been able to travel to so many states and countries, and saying what an honor it was to serve. The PA Guy also called out Bill Olden, the official scorer (stting next to him) who was also a soldier.

Instead of "Fast Break" with the players this year they're running a segment called "One on One" where one player interviews another. The 'neekas in pre-season (they were super cute, too). A-rob and Yo last week. This week was Sue interviewing Lauren between the 3rd and 4th quarters: Sue said that this off-season she knew that Lauren had become very good at "Guitar Hero." LJ responded that Sue was actually the best at it, but that she'd played so much she gave herself an injury. They both had a pretty good laugh at that. Sue asked her about her dream car, and apparently they drove past this car a lot in the off-season. LJ swears she's going to buy it...Maserati? It looked nice, whatever it was. Last: 3 favorite musical artists. (1) Marilyn Manson (2) Nine Inch Nails (3) INXS. Sue responded "that's hard core; I like it."

They played De-o (!) while we were waiting for the refs to make a decision right before Swoopes made that 3. Mostly the crowd ignored it. Scattered boos (from me about the temerity of Game Production, but others could have been booing the refs...I like to think they were booing the cheer, though ).

Speaking of the cheers, the "whose ball is it?" STORM! actually sounded pretty cool over the TV. I've been luke warm about it, but maybe it's all right.

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