8-3 Storm vs. Monarchs

This was NOT a repeat of the previous game though the end result was the same. Two turnovers in the last 2 and a half minutes of the game killed the Storm. They built a big league in the first 15 minutes and managed to hold on to most of it the remainder of the game despite losing Lauren Jackson for the rest of the game. They gave up small runs to the Monarchs but always got some back with small runs of their own to maintain a lead of 5 points when they finally sat Sue Bird for a rest at the 7:55 mark of the fourth quarter. Back to back turnovers (Lennox and then Castro Marques) gave the Monarchs a 4 point run over the next two minutes, tying the game. It remained tied until three consecutive turnovers (Lennox, Bird and then Castro Marques) turned into six Monarch points.

Turnovers at the wrong moments cost the Storm this game, though their solid offensive performance with LJ in the lineup hints that the result might have been different had she been available for the whole game.

We saw more minutes from Katie Gearlds than we have for a while, (Donovan is using Ely or Gearlds based on matchups and game time needs) but all at the three not at the two where I think she will help.

Turnover Story...

Lennox: 6
Wright: 6
Castro Marques: 3

Most Effective Shooters

Player	Floor %	Eff FG%
Wendy Palmer	83%	75%
Iziane Castro Marques	55%	69%
Katie Gearlds	55%	50%
Sue Bird	50%	50%

Best Ratings

Player	Off Rating	Indiv. Rating
Wendy Palmer	177.84	154.33
Katie Gearlds	152.43	123.09
Lauren Jackson	120.88	110.81
Iziane Castro Marques	120.79	113.41

Best Plus/Minus
Lauren Jackson: +9
Katie Gearlds: +3

Most Effective Lineups
Bird-Lennox-Castro-Jackson-Burse: +5
Bird-Wright-Castro-Jackson-Burse: +4