Published: Thursday, July 14, 2011
Storm rally falls short
San Antonio holds off Seattle for 69-66 victory
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Associated Press / Tom Reel, San Antonio Express-N
Seattle forward Le'Coe Willingham (right) passes the ball while being defended by San Antonio's Sophi Young.
SAN ANTONIO -- Every team in the WNBA passed on Danielle Adams at least once in the 2011 Draft.
Out of the players invited to the draft, Adams was the last one in the room to hear her name called. The San Antonio Silver Stars finally selected her in the second round with the 20th overall pick.
On Thursday night, Adams continued her effort to make every one of those teams who passed on her pay. She scored 23 points to lead the Silver Stars over the Seattle Storm 69-66.
Adams scored 15 of her points in the fourth quarter to help preserve the victory. All of San Antonio's 25 fourth quarter points came from reserves.
"She's tough. She is an inside-outside player," Storm point guard Sue Bird said of Adams. "It seemed like they were putting her in spots where we would have to help off after they drove."
The Silver Stars, who took over sole possession of second place in the Western Conference, came out with furious defensive intensity, building a 17-10 lead after the first quarter and a 32-23 lead at halftime. The Storm's 23 points in the first half were a season low.
"We did have a rough shooting night and still had a chance to win the game," Bird said. "I think that speaks on our team's toughness and our defense."
The second half was a new game for the Storm, they found their offensive stroke in the third quarter led by forward Swin Cash. Cash scored seven of her 13 points in the third to get the Storm back in it.
The Storm also got a second half spark from center Ashley Robinson, who scored six points and blocked two shots in the second half. Her jumper from just inside the free-throw line with 8:10 remaining in the fourth quarter tied the score at 46. It was the first tie since the opening tip.
Less than a minute later, Bird knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Storm their first lead of the game.
Bird's shot started what seemingly was a 3-point shooting contest between the Storm and Adams for the remainder of the fourth quarter. Katie Smith, Le'coe Willingham and Tanisha Wright hit 3s for the Storm, and Adams knocked down two for the Silver Stars.
But it was an old-fashioned three-point play that was the difference in the game. With 28.7 seconds remaining, Adams rebounded a Becky Hammon miss and converted a put-back while getting fouled. Adams hit the free throw to give the Silver Stars a 65-62 lead.
"I was just in the groove and my teammates just kept getting me the ball and I just kept making plays. We need the win and we went out and got it," Adams said.
Adams three-point play was probably the biggest play of the game, but like the Storm have done so many time on the road this season it was the hole they dug themselves in the first half that was the difference.
"We put ourselves in a hole in the first half," Storm head coach Brian Agler said. "We started playing better in the second half and moving the ball and got the lead, then just didn't do the things we needed to do."
Smith made a jumper for the Storm to give cut the deficit to 65-64, but the Storm were forced to foul rookie Danielle Robinson. Robinson made both free-throws to push the lead back to 67-64.
When the Storm, who had shot the ball so well from the perimeter in the second half, needed a 3 the most, they came up empty. Cash's attempt from the top of the key, brushed off the side of the rim, Wright provided a put-back, but it was too little too late for the Storm.
Wright led the Storm with 18 points and was 8-for-16 from the field. Robinson chipped in 12 points.
Adams led all scorers with 23 points
"They played well, I give my hats off to San Antonio. They played a really good game, their two young players stepped up, made big plays, they did a good job on Sue and we just didn't take advantage of what they gave us," Agler said.
The Storm continue their three-game road trip on Saturday at 5 p.m. when they face the Minnesota Lynx.
Bird, Cash All-Star starters
ESPN2 announced the WNBA All-Star game starters during the second quarter of Thursday night's game and Bird and Cash will both start for the Western Conference.
Bird was the second leading vote-getter among WNBA players and the top vote-getter in the Western Conference with 22,406 votes. Cash had 13,907 votes.
Joining Bird and Cash in the West's starting lineup will be Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi, Minnesota Lynx forward Maya Moore and Los Angeles Sparks center Candace Parker. Parker will be unable to compete because of injury and a replacement is yet to be named.
New York Liberty guard Cappie Pondexter, Indiana Fever guard Katie Douglas, Fever forward Tamika Catchings, Atlanta Dream forward Angel McCoughtry and Connecticut Sun center Tina Charles will start for the Eastern Conference.
Cathings was the leading overall vote-getter in the league with 32,706 votes.
Out of the players invited to the draft, Adams was the last one in the room to hear her name called. The San Antonio Silver Stars finally selected her in the second round with the 20th overall pick.
On Thursday night, Adams continued her effort to make every one of those teams who passed on her pay. She scored 23 points to lead the Silver Stars over the Seattle Storm 69-66.
Adams scored 15 of her points in the fourth quarter to help preserve the victory. All of San Antonio's 25 fourth quarter points came from reserves.
"She's tough. She is an inside-outside player," Storm point guard Sue Bird said of Adams. "It seemed like they were putting her in spots where we would have to help off after they drove."
The Silver Stars, who took over sole possession of second place in the Western Conference, came out with furious defensive intensity, building a 17-10 lead after the first quarter and a 32-23 lead at halftime. The Storm's 23 points in the first half were a season low.
"We did have a rough shooting night and still had a chance to win the game," Bird said. "I think that speaks on our team's toughness and our defense."
The second half was a new game for the Storm, they found their offensive stroke in the third quarter led by forward Swin Cash. Cash scored seven of her 13 points in the third to get the Storm back in it.
The Storm also got a second half spark from center Ashley Robinson, who scored six points and blocked two shots in the second half. Her jumper from just inside the free-throw line with 8:10 remaining in the fourth quarter tied the score at 46. It was the first tie since the opening tip.
Less than a minute later, Bird knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Storm their first lead of the game.
Bird's shot started what seemingly was a 3-point shooting contest between the Storm and Adams for the remainder of the fourth quarter. Katie Smith, Le'coe Willingham and Tanisha Wright hit 3s for the Storm, and Adams knocked down two for the Silver Stars.
But it was an old-fashioned three-point play that was the difference in the game. With 28.7 seconds remaining, Adams rebounded a Becky Hammon miss and converted a put-back while getting fouled. Adams hit the free throw to give the Silver Stars a 65-62 lead.
"I was just in the groove and my teammates just kept getting me the ball and I just kept making plays. We need the win and we went out and got it," Adams said.
Adams three-point play was probably the biggest play of the game, but like the Storm have done so many time on the road this season it was the hole they dug themselves in the first half that was the difference.
"We put ourselves in a hole in the first half," Storm head coach Brian Agler said. "We started playing better in the second half and moving the ball and got the lead, then just didn't do the things we needed to do."
Smith made a jumper for the Storm to give cut the deficit to 65-64, but the Storm were forced to foul rookie Danielle Robinson. Robinson made both free-throws to push the lead back to 67-64.
When the Storm, who had shot the ball so well from the perimeter in the second half, needed a 3 the most, they came up empty. Cash's attempt from the top of the key, brushed off the side of the rim, Wright provided a put-back, but it was too little too late for the Storm.
Wright led the Storm with 18 points and was 8-for-16 from the field. Robinson chipped in 12 points.
Adams led all scorers with 23 points
"They played well, I give my hats off to San Antonio. They played a really good game, their two young players stepped up, made big plays, they did a good job on Sue and we just didn't take advantage of what they gave us," Agler said.
The Storm continue their three-game road trip on Saturday at 5 p.m. when they face the Minnesota Lynx.
Bird, Cash All-Star starters
ESPN2 announced the WNBA All-Star game starters during the second quarter of Thursday night's game and Bird and Cash will both start for the Western Conference.
Bird was the second leading vote-getter among WNBA players and the top vote-getter in the Western Conference with 22,406 votes. Cash had 13,907 votes.
Joining Bird and Cash in the West's starting lineup will be Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi, Minnesota Lynx forward Maya Moore and Los Angeles Sparks center Candace Parker. Parker will be unable to compete because of injury and a replacement is yet to be named.
New York Liberty guard Cappie Pondexter, Indiana Fever guard Katie Douglas, Fever forward Tamika Catchings, Atlanta Dream forward Angel McCoughtry and Connecticut Sun center Tina Charles will start for the Eastern Conference.
Cathings was the leading overall vote-getter in the league with 32,706 votes.
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