18 June 2012
More Game Stuff!
First of all, how awesome is Maya Moore? As quoted on the Storm website: "For whatever reason, we [Minnesota] couldn't get connected in the first half enough for a very hungry and motivated Seattle team. But that's what happens when we don't bring everything that we have for 40 minutes. We're disappointed in ourselves, but much respect to Seattle for coming in and doing what they needed to do." Always gracious, even in defeat. Love her!
The Storm website also has pictures, and the next to last one is a great picture of Tina Thompson pulling down the rebound with one second left in the game.
The Tumblr Fuck Yeah Seattle Storm has some great animated gifs of Sue Bird late in the game. The best are of her comical collapse to her knees when she realized her first free throw wasn't going in and her "thank you" hug to Tina Thompson after Thompson grabbed the rebound after Bird's second missed free throw.
And, over at WNBAlien, Richard Cohen's coverage of yesterday's games is called "Backwards Day in the WNBA". He had much to say about the Minnesota @ Seattle game:
"Seattle led 43-29 at the half, had shot 57% from the field, and held Minnesota’s starters to a combined 8-25. Key Arena was going wild. Still, everyone knew Minnesota had the potential to flip the switch and play to their true capacity, and that Seattle were fully capable of collapsing and giving the game away. While they were obviously excited, there was a palpable nervousness about the crowd for much of the second half."
[Very true! And I am impressed that he could sense that, considering he watched the game online from the other side of the planet.]
"The old stagers were huge for Seattle in the final minutes. While Bird committed a couple of horrendous turnovers, and Tanisha Wright – who, like Bird, had a great game for most of the evening – was wildly missing shots, the real veterans stepped up. [Tina] Thompson actually drove to the hoop rather than settling for one of her typical rainbow threes, and got herself to the line. Katie Smith hit a huge three from the corner – the only shot she made all night – when the Lynx had cut the gap to a point with under four minutes to play. The old girls were stepping up."
"With four seconds left, Seattle inbounded to Bird, a career 87% free throw shooter. Who promptly missed them both. Pressure and fatigue gets to the best of us. Amazingly for Seattle, who’d been killed on the glass in the fourth quarter, the ball came hard off the iron and Thompson won the battle again, corralling the ball and being fouled with a second left on the clock. Unlike Bird, she calmly sank both her free throws."
"For Seattle, forget the collapse in the fourth quarter – which can happen to anyone when you’ve been struggling all year and you’re facing a team as talented as the Lynx – and focus on the performance for 30 minutes. This was the real Storm. On offense – taking what the defense gives them, attacking when it’s available, knocking down open shots. On defense – knowing where they’re supposed to be, arriving on time, and fighting tooth and nail for every loose ball or half-chance at a stop."
The Storm website also has pictures, and the next to last one is a great picture of Tina Thompson pulling down the rebound with one second left in the game.
The Tumblr Fuck Yeah Seattle Storm has some great animated gifs of Sue Bird late in the game. The best are of her comical collapse to her knees when she realized her first free throw wasn't going in and her "thank you" hug to Tina Thompson after Thompson grabbed the rebound after Bird's second missed free throw.
And, over at WNBAlien, Richard Cohen's coverage of yesterday's games is called "Backwards Day in the WNBA". He had much to say about the Minnesota @ Seattle game:
"Seattle led 43-29 at the half, had shot 57% from the field, and held Minnesota’s starters to a combined 8-25. Key Arena was going wild. Still, everyone knew Minnesota had the potential to flip the switch and play to their true capacity, and that Seattle were fully capable of collapsing and giving the game away. While they were obviously excited, there was a palpable nervousness about the crowd for much of the second half."
[Very true! And I am impressed that he could sense that, considering he watched the game online from the other side of the planet.]
"The old stagers were huge for Seattle in the final minutes. While Bird committed a couple of horrendous turnovers, and Tanisha Wright – who, like Bird, had a great game for most of the evening – was wildly missing shots, the real veterans stepped up. [Tina] Thompson actually drove to the hoop rather than settling for one of her typical rainbow threes, and got herself to the line. Katie Smith hit a huge three from the corner – the only shot she made all night – when the Lynx had cut the gap to a point with under four minutes to play. The old girls were stepping up."
"With four seconds left, Seattle inbounded to Bird, a career 87% free throw shooter. Who promptly missed them both. Pressure and fatigue gets to the best of us. Amazingly for Seattle, who’d been killed on the glass in the fourth quarter, the ball came hard off the iron and Thompson won the battle again, corralling the ball and being fouled with a second left on the clock. Unlike Bird, she calmly sank both her free throws."
"For Seattle, forget the collapse in the fourth quarter – which can happen to anyone when you’ve been struggling all year and you’re facing a team as talented as the Lynx – and focus on the performance for 30 minutes. This was the real Storm. On offense – taking what the defense gives them, attacking when it’s available, knocking down open shots. On defense – knowing where they’re supposed to be, arriving on time, and fighting tooth and nail for every loose ball or half-chance at a stop."
Labels: Seattle Storm
# posted by mamurd @ 9:11 PM 
