Sun vs. Storm... Whew!

[psconn]

1) Wild ride last night at the Arena. Throat sore, ears ringing.
2) Very entertaining, highly emotional game which, had it ended differently, might have been the first shovel of dirt on the Sun's championship aspirations.
3) While Stricklen can be criticized for her streakiness, this was one of several games this season that the Sun do not win without her. Those free throws were absolutely icy.
4) Alyssa Thomas, for all her flaws is one tough and relentless baller.
5) News Flash: Natasha Howard is a beast. Wow.
6) The Sun's familiarity and team cohesiveness are keeping them in this race. With the exception of JJ, no true "superstars". Really a collection of good-to-very good second tier players who play well together.
7) The refs... same old story.
8) Next up, the Wings back at full strength following suspensions. Thornton has torched us before and she'll be well rested. If the Sun experience an emotional hangover from last night, the Wings will make them pay dearly.

 

[eebmg]

Whitcomb had a crazy bad game. Yes, she was defended hard but come on. She must have had a side bet at the casino.

In contrast to what she did to the Liberty.

 

[psconn]

Whitcomb had a crazy bad game. Yes, she was defended hard but come on. She must have had a side bet at the casino.

In contrast to what she did to the Liberty.

Sami only managed to get three shots off all night. That's an indicator of good defensive attention. Helpful that she and Courtney were WNBL teammates for a season, so Courtney has tons of experience covering her.

The Storm also suffered generally from lack of a point guard. That may be another reason why Sami was not getting shots, and also contributed to the Storm's turnover problems.

 

[nwhoopfan]

5) News Flash: Natasha Howard is a beast. Wow

She had a big game against Washington as well. She's not Stewie, but she's among the more versatile and dynamic post players in the league. I thought she was good last year, but she's grown by leaps and bounds this season. I said it before, honestly I think she should be Most Improved Player again.

 

[psconn]

Rachel Banham went down with an injury with Sun up by 6 and then the Storm went on a 15 point run. Looked like left ankle. She never returned to the bench, suggesting a pretty serious situation.

Today the Sun posted a brief video of the team practicing and Rachel is there standing and watching with a ball in her hands. No crutches, no ankle brace or wraps. Hoping the video was taken today.

 

[chrisphoto15]

Amazing game. Here's Coach Miller's Post-game press conference.

 

[psconn]

Thanks Chris.

Last question.... reporter asks Miller if he's notice a change in officiating since the Anigwe/Griner incident.
Miller: "I never notice officiating, was it bad tonight?"

 

[chrisphoto15]

Some photos from the game -