Last night I watched the best basketball game I have ever seen. Not the best women's game, or the best WNBA game, but the best game, period.And although I had already seen my beloved Storm beat the very physical Mercury once this season, my hopes were not high for this particular game. Phoenix (18-10) was 1st place in the West, having just won six games in a row, while Seattle had lost three in a row, for a dismal 4th place in the West and 13-15 overall record. The Storm exceeded all our expectations, however, and I'd like to share a few highlights/favorite moments/photos of this record-breaking evening:
- My favorite player, Iziane Castro-Marques, made four of four three-pointers in the first quarter and finished the game with 22 points. Go Izzy!
- The Storm shot 76.2% to end the first quarter with a WNBA record 40 points. The Mercury had only 17.
- The Storm missed more free throws than I've ever seen them miss in all the games I've watched combined, but they still finished 77% for the game.
- Five Storm players (Izzy, Lauren Jackson, Betty Lennox, Sue Bird and Katie Geralds) finished in double digits.
- Every time the announcer shouted "Aussie!Aussie!Aussie!" after an LJ score, instead of the traditional "Oi!Oi!Oi!," the crowd answered "M!V!P!"
- Clarence, B-Money's brother and staunchest sideline supporter, wore all pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Night at the Key Arena.
- The Storm's 61 first-half points and 111 game points set franchise records for points scored in a half and a game, respectively.
- LJ made every one of the six free throws she got after being fouled by girlfriend (and unbelievably intimidating player) Diana Taurasi. Taurasi, who was nice enough to pat LJ on the butt each time she helped her up after knocking her over, only made five of six reciprocally earned free throws.
- Best of all, our friend Jesse, who is hands down the biggest women's basketball fan we know--and a font of inside information, as you can see--did not have an aneurysm despite being unbelievably excited!
5 comments:
Am I being too big a cynic to suggest that the "best game you've ever seen" was a total blowout? I mean, you can call it a FAVORITE game, but the BEST game would have to be two more evenly matched teams, right?
This game was over when Kelly Miller missed that 18-footer, Lauren Jackson grabbed the rebound, and our heroine Iziane Castro Marques drained a tre, giving our plural heroines a 33-13 lead with 2:34 left in the first quarter. Seven and a half minutes into a 40-minute game, it was over.
I mean, I love Katie Gearlds as much as the next guy, but any game that she's scoring 13 points -- most of them in the second quarter -- that's really all I need to know.
Look, Phoenix is a great team offensively. But that showing against the Storm shows why they're going nowhere in the playoffs. Nowhere.
Sure, they're tied with San Antonio/a for the Western Conference lead, but they can't play defense. This is so typical of Paul Westhead -- beating up on Minnesota and LA may sell tickets, but it's defense that wins championships.
If the Storm can put up this kind of fireworks against a team like Sacramento, they'll go somewhere in the playoffs. But beating Phoenix? C'mon. Let's not go crazy here.
Have I mentioned that I'm having a slow day at work?
On paper, the first half was definitely a blowout. But part of what made the game so great was that in person it didn't seem that way. The crowd (and the team, I think) were so surprised by how well the Storm were doing against a really tough team (whatever their record indicates the Mercury are definitely intimidating and aggressive on defense) with a superior record that we all felt like it could change at any moment.
And plus, I have issues calling a game that ends 111-101 a blow-out. The Mercury came within 5 points in the last few minutes, and it was clutch free throws that made the difference.
Also, the Mercury did not play badly. They're a good team and the played well the whole game. The Storm just played better. Which was awesome to watch.
Maybe you just had to be there?
Don't listen to Old Man Josh. And he's wrong here anyway. Defense doesn't win championships. That's a myth.
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