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The Chicago Sky lost its first home game of the season. Of possibly greater significance, Elena Delle Donne lost the luster that came with being the leading vote-getter for the WNBA all-star game, rookie of the month for June and Eastern Conference player of the week (June 24-30).
Alanna Kolette is featured in a video below. She is not a WNBA player.
All that and more was packed into a 69-60 result Tuesday (July 2) against the Seattle Storm at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill.
With a chance to showcase the future of the league (Delle Donne) in an ESPN2 game, the Sky (7-4) came to earth after a 5-0 home start. Delle Donne, who had 12 points and a career-high 12 points, had her worst shooting game (3-of-13 from the field, 0-for-3 from three-point range).
She was consistently harassed by the Storm (5-6) with two and three players sometimes hounding her.
“At times it seemed there was a lid on the basket,” Delle Donne said. “Other times they were running double teams, just trying to get the ball out of certain people’s hand. After the first quarter we just played on our heels, not only offensively but defensively, too.”
The Sky closed the first quarter on a 14-0 run for a 21-7 lead before the Storm took control with a 27-10 second quarter and 20-14 third quarter.
“Players like Epiphanny [Prince] and Elena, they’re so talented offensively, so our goal was just to not allow them to get too comfortable,” said Seattle’s Tina Thompson, the only active player left from the WNBA’s initial season 17 years ago. “And I think we did a pretty good job of that.”
Prince was the only other Sky player to score in double figures. She had 12 points on 3-of-9 shooting. The Sky shot 29.9 percent for the game (20-of-67). Sky forward had a game-high 14 rebounds.
Center Sylvia Fowles sat out the game with a sprained ankle.
“She is getting treatment twice a day and progressing slowly, so it won’t be something that’s lingering, but the goal is for Sunday [at the New York Liberty],” Sky coach Pokey Chatman said.
“She takes up a lot of space she can screen. She can finish. She’s a good rebounder. She’s an Olympian. She’s an all-star, but I don’t necessarily — with all due respect — I don’t think that’s our major issue today. When you look at the stats you see 69 points, a lot of times you are happy when you keep them in the 60s. We shot the ball less than 30 percent, and you’re not going to beat anyone shooting that percentage.”
“We got some point-blank range layups that didn’t go in, but we can execute a little bit better, and the film will tell us that,” said Cash, who won a WNBA title with the Storm in 2010. “We did get some open looks. I missed a few shots, [Delle Donne] missed some shots she normally makes, but at the end of the day it really just comes down to our execution.”
Camille Little and Temeka Johnson led the Storm with 16 points apiece.
“We definitely wanted to give her a lot of attention. We thought Camille Little did a great job on her keeping her [Delle Donne] in spots where we could guard her,” Seattle coach Brian Agler said. “She is such a versatile player and so skilled that you have to be physical with her. You really have to run people at her and put question marks in her mind. We wanted to have certain people guarding her at all times. Camille Little did a really good job of getting her contained.”
“It’s something we have to figure out,” Delle Donne said. “This is why this game builds character. And you either fall down and stay down or you fight back and stand up. I have no doubt this team will stand up.
“When things aren’t always going your way, find other things to do. I didn’t do that so much tonight, so next time this happens — hopefully it doesn’t — I’ll find something else to do to make everybody around me better.”
Herself included.
Some video from the Sky-Storm postgame:
And here is where we go for our daily dose of non-gratuitous video. Thanks to the editorial and video staffs at elliottharris.com for their never-ending efforts (and their generous definition of “gratuitous”). Thanks also to the fine folks at Maxim and to April Rose, one of our favorites who alwyas is welcome around here:
And, warming up for the Fourth of July, we might as well offer some more bikini video, no?
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