Storm turn KeyArena into party town with big win
I know, the WNBA doesn`t rival the NBA or NFL or Major League Baseball in terms of popularity or prestige. But don`t try telling that to any of the 8,826 fans who turned KeyArena into a pulsating party on Tuesday as the Storm won its first Western Conference championship with a stirring 82-62 victory over Sacramento.
They were dancing in the aisles as this one came to a close. And we`re talking about folks like former Sonic Shawn Kemp, Mariners outfielder Randy Winn and a suite full of Seahawks, including Koren Robinson and Cedric Woodard, who all came down to the floor and tossed T-shirts to the frenzied crowd when the victory was assured.
This is rare air for a Seattle franchise. The Sonics remain the only local pro franchise in a major sport to win a professional championship, beating the Washington Bullets a quarter-century ago. The Seahawks reached the AFC Championship game in 1983, but have yet to sniff the Super Bowl. The Mariners played in the American League Championship Series in 1995, 2000 and 2001, but remain without a World Series.
And now the Storm are heading to the WNBA Finals to face Connecticut.
Don`t tell me this is just some silly women`s game that doesn`t count as a major championship for Seattle. If you believe that, you weren`t there Tuesday night when the confetti flew, the music pounded, the players cried and an entire arena bounced with joy.
It looked like title town to me. And it felt like the big time for former NCAA champion and Olympic gold medalist Sue Bird when she jumped into Lauren Jackson`s arms and celebrated with the masses when Tuesday`s deed was done.
``It feels good to go through what we`ve been through, not even making the playoffs last year to being here now,`` said Bird. ``Just doing it the way we`ve done it, it`s been fun. It`s been great. And hopefully there is more to come.``
This team is ready for a run at the trophy. From the depths of an expansion franchise in 2000, the Storm has put things together with the help of a couple No. 1 draft picks and some adroit roster additions. The Storm is the perfect mix of Jackson`s size and MVP skills, Bird`s point-guard leadership, Kamila Vodichkova`s strength and screen-setting ability, Betty Lennox`s gritty toughness, Sheri Sam`s athleticism and Tully Bevilaqua`s bulldog defensive intensity.
Toss in coach Anne Donovan`s towering toughness (Note to Bob Melvin: Watch this woman for how-to-glare tips) and the KeyArena crowd`s enthusiasm and you`ve got the stuff of a championship run.
Now the Storm just have to do the dirty work. And it got plenty dirty Tuesday night in the conference finale, with Sacramento bringing the sledgehammers to a rough-and-tumble contest that produced more bruises than a title fight.
At one point you had Bird adjusting the face mask covering her broken nose while Bevilaqua applied ice to her forehead and Vodichkova writhed on the floor after twisting her knee in a hard collision.
But the Storm dished it out just well. Vodichkova set the tone on the opening play of the game, grabbing a defensive rebound and clearing space with a couple swings of her elbow that sent Monarchs tumbling like bowling pins. No foul. The Storm simply took off on a fast break that led to Lennox jumper, and the battle was on.
Bird drove to the bucket a few minutes later, was sent sprawling with no whistle and was helped to her feet by Schultz, who alternated pats on Bird`s back with screams at the official. Bird, just a day after surgery on her broken nose, even took a shot to the facemask from referee Roy Gulbeyan at one point, when the ref gestured an offensive foul against the Storm star just as she was walking up from behind.
So, yeah, it was that kind of night. But this boxing match turned into a TKO midway through the second half when the Storm unleashed an 18-0 run. Suddenly, Sacramento gave way and the party was on. Suddenly Seattle is traveling to Connecticut for Game 1 of the three-game WNBA Finals series on Friday. Suddenly the Storm have a chance to give Seattle something that hasn`t happened since the Sonics won it all the year before Bird was born.
``Yeah, 1979, that`s a long time ago,`` Bird said. ``Winning is the best way to put people in the seats and excite a city. And hopefully, we`re doing that right now.``
Those in the seats Tuesday were plenty excited. This was a well-played game between two talented teams in front of a raucous crowd. And in the end, it was as good a sports scene as Seattle has enjoyed in quite some time.
``The fans here have been great,`` said Sam, one of several key players brought in this year by Donovan. ``They were there from the beginning of the season and it`s only getting better. We really appreciate what the city is doing for us. Now hopefully, we can bring them home a championship.``
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