Top > Sport > 2004 > October > 2004-10-10

Donovan, Seattle look to kick up a Storm at home

SEATTLE -- For a few minutes as her team took some shooting practice, Anne Donovan paused on Saturday afternoon for some rare relaxation.

But when she and the Seattle Storm are back on the court this afternoon, it`ll be all about expectation.

It`s a much bigger word. And for Donovan, that`s the biggest difference between coaching the Storm in this year`s WNBA Finals and guiding the Charlotte Sting to the 2001 title series.

``In Charlotte, we were always the underdogs,`` Donovan said of the squad that finally fell to the Los Angeles Sparks. ``Even though we lost that last series, we were feeling good about what we were able to accomplish after we started 1-and-10.

``This is expectations, (the feeling) that we`re entitled to this,`` she added. ``Anything less than a WNBA championship would be a disappointment.``

The Storm could be 40 minutes away from disappointment unless they turn things around in Game 2 against the Connecticut Sun. After Friday`s 68-64 loss on the Sun`s home court, Seattle needs a victory in today`s 4 p.m. contest at KeyArena to square the best-of-3 series at a game apiece.

If that happens, the teams return to the Key on Tuesday night at 6 to decide it all. And, at least for today, the place figures to be off the decibel meter. As of Saturday, Storm officials said that only about 1,000 tickets remained, with the lower bowl sold out and the upper bowl close to it.

``That`s phenomenal -- to have that kind of support from our core of 8,000 fans and then get all that many more than that,`` Donovan said, letting the sentence go unfinished.

Donovan didn`t put her team through any strenous paces on Saturday after a long, cross-country flight home from Connecticut. Normally one to wander the court -- or at least stand in the middle of it and give direction -- during workouts, Donovan eventually retreated to the sidelines and watched, refreshment in hand, as the Storm fired up shot after shot. They were done in less than an hour.

``They (the league) give you a two-hour window (to practice), so you have to make the best of it,`` Donovan said. ``Frankly, we couldn`t have gone more than 40 minutes.``

Transition defense, physical play -- and doing a better job of dealing with both -- will be Donovan`s order of the day for Game 2. And it didn`t take her previous experience in the Finals to know that those were two of the biggest factors in Friday`s setback.

``They beat us up in transition,`` Donovan said. ``And the East equals physical. I don`t think we responded well outside or inside. We only got to the free throw line seven times, and we`ve got to do better than that.``

That`s among Donovan`s expectations for this afternoon -- in a scenario where expectations are soaring.

Sure is a long way from Charlotte and 2001.

``It`s like night and day,`` she said.