Today marks the season’s first meeting with the San Antonio Silver Stars and make no mistake, this is a different San Antonio team than the Storm dominated a year ago.
San Antonio has a record of 7-4, and has been one of the more surprising teams early in the WNBA season. The last two games, though, have been a struggle for the Silver Stars. With Tuesday’s loss to the Los Angeles Sparks, the Silver Stars fell from the top seed in the Western Conference to fourth.
But San Antonio is still no slouch. Becky Hammon and Sophia Young lead their balanced offensive attack. The Silver Stars also have a secret weapon in rookie second round draft pick Danielle Adams.
But the secret is getting out. Adams is averaging 15.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game and was named Rookie of the Month for games played in June.
“Danielle Adams is doing an exceptional job for them as a rookie,” Storm head coach Brian Agler said. “They have a good team and I think they have made some good additions.”
Seattle has an identical 7-4 record, but the two teams appear to be going in different directions. The Storm are coming off back-to-back victories for only the second time this season and finally have found an offensive rhythm.
Without Lauren Jackson, who is out with a hip injury, the Storm have ridden a roller coaster so far this season, but for the first time they are playing with the confidence and aggressiveness offensively that they had a year ago.
Point guard Sue Bird and forward Swin Cash appear to be in competition with each other for the league’s MVP award, leading the Storm offensively in Jackson’s absence. Together, they make up the last two Western Conference Player of the Week award winners.
Bird scored 22 points in a Tuesday victory over the Washington Mystics, shooting 8-for-14 from the field. Cash added 20 points of her own.
With the Storm defense still setting the tone, and the improved offense, Seattle appears poised to make a run at the top seed in the Western Conference. But it is going to be tough with San Antonio being the first game of a three-game road trip where the Storm face the Silver Stars, the Minnesota Lynx and the Chicago Sky.
“It’s going to be a tough stretch,” Bird said.
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