SUN v SEA in About 3 Hours

[psconn]

Let the Butterflies Begin...

What I would love to see from the Sun:
1) Quick, purposeful ball movement; Teflon Offense - the only place the ball should stick is in the hoop
2) Playoff level of effort and teamwork by everyone for 40 minutes, even if you are not in the game
3) Whether up or down don't let the score or the refs get in your head
4) a win

What I would hate to see from the Sun:
1) No improvement
2) Any more of that chemistry-destroying childish nonsense that was on display last game

What I would love to see from the Sun fans:
1) After an appropriately enthusiastic greeting for Sue, KML and Stewie, BE SUN FANS.
2) Provide enthusiastic support to all the Sun players no matter where they went to college.

GO SUN!

 

[EricLA]

Stewie with a lot of boards, but shooting bagels tonight - 0-7 from the floor, 0-4 from 3 and 0 points. Bird on the other hand has scored 21 points. Feed the hot hand!!

 

[iri10]

Probably one of Tuck's better games, too.

 

[Kaizen]

Stewie with a lot of boards, but shooting bagels tonight - 0-7 from the floor, 0-4 from 3 and 0 points. Bird on the other hand has scored 21 points. Feed the hot hand!!

Bird is on fire, 24 pts, 5 rebs, 6 asts

 

[Carnac]

A 1 point win for the Sun. Great game to watch, great game for Morgan Tuck.........20 points. Hopefully this was her "come-out" game, and we'll see more of this kind of production from her on a regular basis.
The knee looks like it's holding up pretty good. The Sun over came a 12 point deficit to win this with 0.06 seconds left. The folks that attended this game got their money's worth. Games like this is why I subscribe to the WNBA league pass every year. I can't get this anywhere else out here in California.

 

[reno tony]

I guess Stewie didn't learn at UCONN how to defend Tuck. Morgan owned her tonight. Great game Morgan.

 

[Kaizen]

I guess Stewie didn't learn at UCONN how to defend Tuck. Morgan owned her tonight. Great game Morgan.

Stewie: we are sisters

 

[psconn]

Just back from the game and enjoying a celebratory CT SUN orange and red ADULT fruit smoothy out of our CT SUN logo glassware. A win... what more can you say? Man that felt good!

1. Morgan? Magnificent! 80% shooting including 3-3 from 3. The team shot <40% overall . She and Stewie went back and forth a bit especially in the 2nd half. Morgan made a couple great moves on her. I wish I could expect this from her the rest of the way but NO ONE is THAT good (?).
2. Alyssa Thomas. So tough, so relentless. Everyone in the arena owes her a beer for pulling out that win. Very nice stat line.
3. Jaz Thomas. Just a really good athlete who works hard all the time. We don't win this without her.
4. Kelsey Bone. A solid game but again, low minutes down the stretch. The ball tends to "stick" when she gets it. She is a very big talent and could be a much better team player. She seems over committed to her own individualism and has yet to fully assimilate into Miller's concept of team play. I hope she gets it soon. She's just too good to play such short minutes.

More thoughts but the fruit smoothy is really kicking in and I don't want to say anything TOO dumb.

Thanks Alyssa. Beer. Anytime. Anywhere.

 

[brooke84z]

Maybe it was just my seat - I was in the front close to the center team side. I felt like I was in the middle of it all - announcer, players, yelling coaches, yelling fans. I had a lot of fun and will definitely go again.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Coming out of high school, and perhaps also for the pat 4 years, there has been only 1 player who could defend Stewie--Morgan Tuck.

 

[Roger G]

Maybe it was just my seat - I was in the front close to the center team side. I felt like I was in the middle of it all - announcer, players, yelling coaches, yelling fans. I had a lot of fun and will definitely go again.

My wife and I sat right behind the bench once. It was so fun, exciting, and memorable. It is so cool to be right there in the action. Only after being up close like that can you really appreciate how strong and athletic those women are.

 

[60'sfan]

I had a great night. Attended the game with my granddaughter. Seat were $15 each and included a hot dog, large soda and an ice cream. We were in section 104 but all the seats are good in this arena. Before the game we ran into the Uconn women's team who were also there. Got autographs for my granddaughter from Kia Nurse, Napheesa Collier, Katy Lou and Tierney Lawlor. Had to get Tierney's because I am originally from Ansonia and I graduated with her grandfather.
Great game. I was sure for most of the game that the Storm was going to win easily. Sue Bird was dominant in her shooting and passing. Finally the coach put Kelly Farris on her and that slowed her a bit. Morgan Tuck was terrific and out-played Stewie.

 

[psconn]

OK so how did I do against my list of "loves" and "hates"?

Let the Butterflies Begin...

What I would love to see from the Sun:
1) Quick, purposeful ball movement; Teflon Offense - the only place the ball should stick is in the hoop - I saw some improvement. No surprise, Morgan and Kelly along with Jaz are best at this. I'm not an Xs and Os kind of guy so it is tough for me to pick out the "why" behind the observation in terms of an offensive play or scheme. However, I do remember the mid-80's Celtics, the "Show Time" Lakers, and just about every UConn WBB team since 1991 so I know what cohesive team offense looks like. Definitely still a work in progress but there was a glimmer at times.
2) Playoff level of effort and teamwork by everyone for 40 minutes, even if you are not in the game. There is a core of players that give that kind of effort and winning will help make it contagious. I'll give them a B grade as a team and there was an improvement.
3) Whether up or down don't let the score or the refs get in your head. They did a good job on this one. More than enough bad calls both ways to make you lose your mind but Grandma Morgan (see NL Day article) and others kept the team on task.
4) a win - YES!!!

What I would hate to see from the Sun:
1) No improvement - There was improvement
2) Any more of that chemistry-destroying childish nonsense that was on display last game - Definitely not as overt as last game but Alex is not in a good state of mind AT ALL and it shows.

What I would love to see from the Sun fans:
1) After an appropriately enthusiastic greeting for Sue, KML and Stewie, BE SUN FANS.
2) Provide enthusiastic support to all the Sun players no matter where they went to college.
Better than expected, not as good as I hoped... a solid C+/B-

GO SUN!

Good press coverage thanks to Stewie. Here's some of it:

Sun beat Storm to snap six-game losing streak

Connecticut Sun snap 6-game losing streak

With Former Huskies In Spotlight, Alyssa Thomas Lifts Sun

Fortunate Sun

Thomas, Tuck rally Sun to win

 

[Carnac]

Just back from the game and enjoying a celebratory CT SUN orange and red ADULT fruit smoothy out of our CT SUN logo glassware. A win... what more can you say? Man that felt good!

1. Morgan? Magnificent! 80% shooting including 3-3 from 3. The team shot <40% overall . She and Stewie went back and forth a bit especially in the 2nd half. Morgan made a couple great moves on her. I wish I could expect this from her the rest of the way but NO ONE is THAT good (?).
2. Alyssa Thomas. So tough, so relentless. Everyone in the arena owes her a beer for pulling out that win. Very nice stat line.
3. Jaz Thomas. Just a really good athlete who works hard all the time. We don't win this without her.
4. Kelsey Bone. A solid game but again, low minutes down the stretch. The ball tends to "stick" when she gets it. She is a very big talent and could be a much better team player. She seems over committed to her own individualism and has yet to fully assimilate into Miller's concept of team play. I hope she gets it soon. She's just too good to play such short minutes.

More thoughts but the fruit smoothy is really kicking in and I don't want to say anything TOO dumb.

Thanks Alyssa. Beer. Anytime. Anywhere.

Hey psconn, thanks for the report. There's nothing like getting a fan's perspective who was there. I'm jealous. I would have enjoyed being there. I saw it WNBA access. That is the type of WNBA game I like to see, especially with all of the UConn alums in uniform. I know there were some folks in the stands that were secretly pulling for Seattle to win, and that wanted to see Stewie and KML to do well. I didn't care who won, I just wanted to see a good game. I got my wish.

 

[Carnac]

I had a great night. Attended the game with my granddaughter. Seat were $15 each and included a hot dog, large soda and an ice cream. We were in section 104 but all the seats are good in this arena. Before the game we ran into the Uconn women's team who were also there. Got autographs for my granddaughter from Kia Nurse, Napheesa Collier, Katy Lou and Tierney Lawlor. Had to get Tierney's because I am originally from Ansonia and I graduated with her grandfather.
Great game. I was sure for most of the game that the Storm was going to win easily. Sue Bird was dominant in her shooting and passing. Finally the coach put Kelly Farris on her and that slowed her a bit. Morgan Tuck was terrific and out-played Stewie.

Another reason to go to these (Conn/Seattle) games if you're a UConn fan. Sometimes you run into people you admire from afar.

 

[psconn]

Sorry to be repetitive but I thought I'd move the new comments out of the self-quote box (with minor edits) to make them more visible.

OK so how did we do against my pregame list of "loves" and "hates"?


What I would love to see from the Sun:
1) Quick, purposeful ball movement; Teflon Offense - the only place the ball should stick is in the hoop - I saw some improvement. No surprise, Morgan and Kelly along with Jaz are best at this. I'm not an Xs and Os kind of guy so it is tough for me to pick out the "why" behind the observation in terms of an offensive play or scheme. However, I do remember the mid-80's Celtics, the "Show Time" Lakers, and just about every UConn WBB team since 1991 so I know what cohesive team offense looks like. Definitely still a work in progress but there was a glimmer at times.

2) Playoff level of effort and teamwork by everyone for 40 minutes, even if you are not in the game. There is a core of players that give that kind of effort and winning will help make it contagious. I'll give them a B grade as a team and there was an improvement.

3) Whether up or down don't let the score or the refs get in your head. They did a good job on this one. More than enough bad calls both ways to make you lose your mind but Grandma Morgan (see NL Day article) and others kept the team on task.

4) a win - YES!!!

What I would hate to see from the Sun:
1) No improvement - There was visible improvement. It was a win, and the level of effort was almost where it needs to be every night. The Sun missed a boatload of shots, but many seemed to be good shots. After a really good performance against the Fever, Rachel was a bit invisible. I guess that's what rookies not named Stewart, Mitchell, and a couple other do.

2) Any more of that chemistry-destroying childish nonsense that was on display last game - Definitely not as overt as last game but Alex is not in a good state of mind AT ALL and it shows.

What I would love to see from the Sun fans:
1) After an appropriately enthusiastic greeting for Sue, KML and Stewie, BE SUN FANS.

2) Provide enthusiastic support to all the Sun players no matter where they went to college.
Better than expected, not as good as I hoped... a solid C+/B-. It definitely helped that it was Magnificent Morgan that spearheaded the win.

GO SUN!

 

[MilfordHusky]

Chiney called Morgan the grandmother. I guess it's the common view.

 

[psconn]

For those SHOULD subscribe to WNBA League Pass, but don't. 2 minutes of Morgan and AT highlights ...

 

[Carnac]

Chiney called Morgan the grandmother. I guess it's the common view.

Wow! Now that's some mad respect. You're the youngest player on the team (A rookie), and they're already calling you "grammah" That just illustrates Morgan's maturity and leadership. It's easy to be a leader on a team after you've been there 4-5 years. But when you've just arrived from the airport, and are still holding your bags, and they recognize you as a leader, that's impressive. Morgan is a leader, a will be one wherever she goes, whatever she does.