Kathy Goodman: There’s a new group in town
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What is it between the Sparks and the Storm? We are 17-17 all time in the regular season with them. This season has been no different. Game 1, Seattle won on their home court by two. Game 2, we won at Staples by 27. Game 3 was the infamous triple overtime when Sue Bird buried us behind the 3-point line. Thursday was Game 4. We needed a win. We needed it for our confidence, and we needed it to keep our postseason plans alive. We needed it to prove to ourselves and to prove to the naysayers that we were the team everyone thought we were at the beginning of the season.
For only the second game this season, we had all 11 of our players dressed and on the bench. It had been a tough loss Tuesday against the Silver Stars, but there was something about Seattle that inspires our team. A lot of history; a lot of rivalry; no love lost.
We started the first quarter so strong — just like the last home game against Seattle. We jumped out to a 13-point lead and the crowd was on its feet. We held Sue Bird scoreless and played an entire quarter of basketball without a turnover. But we had slowed a bit at the end of the quarter and let our lead dwindle to 6. Seattle was definitely not going to just lay down for us.
We hit our second quarter slump, and let the lead slip to one at the half. I had mixed emotions about Bird’s 2-point half. I was proud of our defense, but worried about her offense. The stats between the two teams were almost indistinguishable—same rebounds, same steals, same number of three-point field goals made; Seattle had one more block; we had one more turnover. It was not surprising the score was so close.
Third quarter pushed us yet further behind. Seattle had now outscored us in two consecutive quarters and the euphoria of the first quarter was a distant memory. Seattle was now winning by 2. We needed to win. We had to win. As the fourth quarter began, I have to admit I was a bit demoralized. I wondered if we had enough. But then a new group emerged. A “never-say-die” group that must have read my mind and was out to prove that we had plenty left. I dubbed them “Noelle and the Olympians.” Lisa Leslie, Tina Thompson, Candace Parker, Delisha Milton-Jones and Noelle Quinn decided that we were winning this game.
Of course, Seattle was making the case for themselves as well. The game was tied five times in the fourth and it came down to the final 51 seconds of the game. I wasn’t sure I could sit through it. With the Storm up by 2, Seattle’s Tanisha Wright stole the ball and gave it to Bird, who uncharacteristically missed a three-point shot and Quinn grabbed the rebound. After a timeout, Quinn put up a shot with 8.6 seconds left that dropped through the net, tying the game. Seattle got the ball and Bird again had a chance, putting up a three-point attempt with a second left, but it wasn’t close. We were going into overtime.
OK, keep Noelle and the Olympians out there, I thought. They can do it. They can see the victory. Well, that thought faded when Seattle held us scoreless for the first three minutes of overtime while running up a six-point lead. I just couldn’t face another loss, and really not another overtime loss. And then Camille Little missed two free throws, and Quinn shot a nothing-but-net three-pointer. Leslie made a basket, then Quinn hit another 3. Maybe this was going to be OK. The crowd was on its feet. We were up by 2, but they had Lauren Jackson and Bird more than capable of burying us behind the arc and we weren’t out of the woods yet. Quinn grabbed another key rebound and Jackson committed her sixth foul. One three-point threat gone. Parker scored on a turnaround jumper with 23 seconds left, putting us up by 4. Light at the end of the tunnel? Little missed and Quinn was there for yet another rebound. She was fouled and made both free throws, putting us up by 6 with 14.2 seconds left. I was beginning to see limited options for Seattle—although back-to-back three pointers weren’t beyond possibility. Bird had dropped three on us in the third overtime of our last game.
Sure enough, Seattle wasn’t giving up yet. With 9.6 seconds left, Wright scored 3 for Seattle and it was back to one basket again. The Storm fouled Milton-Jones immediately on the inbound play and when she missed the first, I thought, “Oh, no.” But she sealed the game by making the second shot, putting us up by 4 with 8.8 seconds left. Wright threw up another attempted 3 as time expired and we finally came away with a win.
Leslie had come back from injury with a vengeance, shooting 50% from the field and scoring 15 points, 4 assists and 2 blocks. Parker scored her fourth double-double in five games (18 points and 13 rebounds). But the name on the crowd’s lips at the end of the game was definitely Noelle Quinn. She set a career high of 23 points, shooting 57% from the field and a perfect 4-4 from the line, grabbed 7 rebounds, and committed not a single turnover. Noelle and the Olympians. They’re definitely worth watching. Let’s see what they can do against the Indiana Fever on Monday.
-- Kathy Goodman
Kathy Goodman is co-owner of the Sparks.