September 7th, 2016: Seattle at New York

Just the Facts, Ma'am: A special night for the New York Liberty turned out to be a big win for the Seattle Storm, as they came on strong in the second half to beat the home team 102-78. Jewell Loyd had 25 to lead the Storm, who also got 23 points and 9 rebounds from Breanna Stewart and 21 points and 9 rebounds from Crystal Langhorne. Tina Charles filled the stat sheet for the Liberty with 22 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists.

For quotes, roasting, lapses, oh God I am so tired, and Swedish puns, join your intrepid blogger after the jump.
Today is a day of much honoring- the Liberty's BHA night has been forced to share space with Swin Cash's retirement ceremony. I'm okay with this.

I've mentioned before that I hate the Q59. Today is no exception. Didn't even get on the train before 6, which is when the gates open.

I'm extremely glad the ceremony is after the game. I wonder if they picked today so that they could get Sue Bird to say a few words. That would be cool. I'm curious about the poster, too. Will it just have her Liberty and Olympic photos on it, or will it also include her time elsewhere? Because that's a lot of pictures.

Seattle continues to be the best autograph team. This I heard second-hand tonight, but I believe it.

Operatic God Bless America. Solid anthem until the last high note, which was a bridge too far.

At halftime, Seattle is up 48-46, but it feels like it could be a five to seven point swing in either direction. Seattle's getting open jumpers, but I don't know enough about them to know whether this is a defensive choice or a disaster in the making.

Tanisha Wright's family is in the house, trolling UConn fans with a dark green Storm #30 jersey. I like it.

Tanisha rocking that black tank top with the spaghetti straps. I had no idea how much ink she had on her back! On most people the multitude of necklaces might be much of a muchness, but she makes it work. She's got the pink heels for BHA. Kiah Stokes is wearing a striped dress that includes pink in its layers. Those shoulders… insert heart-eyes emoji here. She's not even my type! We didn't see Shoni Schimmel and her denim jacket until Swin's ceremony, so I'm not sure whether she's hiding in one of the suites or behind the bench or what.

Gonna need more from the bench tonight. Aaaaand we didn't get it.

That. That could have been better. That could have been a lot better. I don't think it could have been very much worse.

Jenny Boucek remembered her last three players with something like two minutes to go. Calling timeout to advance the ball at the same time was a bit classless, but Boucek doesn't seem to go with the codes I've always heard. Then again, Bill was never one for the code either. You can't leave Jenna O'Hea open. I mean, really. Why would you do such a thing? (Because we can't cover anyone beyond the arc.) Abby Bishop is tall and seems to like to be near the basket. Krystal Thomas was actually surprisingly effective creating space for her teammates. She set a really nice screen to get Stewart free for a basket in the second quarter. Ramu Tokashiki couldn't buy a basket, but she more than made up for any lack of offense with her energy on the offensive glass. There was a possession where she made a rebound happen by sheer hustle and a lot of slapping of the basketball.

I don't know if Monica Wright is back. I don't know if she'll ever really be back to what she was when she was the super sub for Minnesota. Something looks off about her. Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis shoots threes very well. This is a thing she is good at. I realize, of course, that we are not good at defending the thing she is good at, but perhaps attempting to defend the thing would make sense. On the flip side, watching her play defense is kind of funny. It's sort of like watching a bad chase scene. Noelle Quinn can occasionally hit an open shot, and her size is useful, but she's not a long-term solution at guard.

I consider it a partial triumph today that Breanna Stewart was mostly just good until the fourth quarter. And it says something about Breanna Stewart that 17 and 7 (through the first three quarters or so) is "just good", or that 23 and 9 is quiet. She fits into that team like an older and wiser player. She does everything, and she does it well. Alysha Clark may make her living these days on her defense, but it's good to remember that she led the nation in scoring once upon a time, and that she can hit if she's left open. Admittedly, I wasn't expecting her to can a three, but she's still got the midrange game and the game at the basket that she had back in her college days. Her passing decisions were not the best- there was a sequence early in the game where our commentary was, "And that's why Sue's the point guard, not you." Crystal Langhorne makes such a difference for this team when she's playing well. I don't think there's been a player who does as much off offensive rebounds and junkyard dog plays as she does since Yolanda Griffith. I don't even know if they run a lot of plays for her. But when she's open, she gets things done. And then sometimes she has the little midrange jumper, which is just unfair.

Jewell Loyd does ridiculous things. They haven't yet perfected the Jewelly-oop, but you can tell they're working on it. I think using her to initiate offense as a passer instead of a creator is a huge mistake. She's way too explosive to use that way. On the ridiculous things end of the spectrum, she was in on a big block on Amanda Zahui B. Sue Bird seemed ot be relying more on the long ball than usual, which makes sense given the Liberty's defense against the three. (i.e. "what defense?") She makes her team go, and she does so with a bit of style, which is the most you can ask of a point guard.

Amanda Zahui B was good on offense, though missing chippies is one of my pet peeves. She was not so good on defense, and her passing game was off. Just because it says "Swedish" on their uniforms does not mean they have ever been your teammates, Amanda. Swin Cash had probably the worst game of her long and illustrious career. No offense, no defense, no "veteran leadership", no clock awareness (she messed up the end of the first quarter), nothing of any use to her team. I respect everything she's done, but if this game said anything about her, it said that she chose the right time to retire.

Shavonte Zellous still isn't a point guard, but she did a better job of pretending to be one tonight. She still has that tendency to turn into a quantum singularity when the ball gets into her hands, and either she needs to work on her three-point shot, or she needs to take a couple of steps forward and let the midrange game come to her. I like the energy she brings and her willingness to take a pass foul for the team. Epiphanny Prince's jumper still isn't back, or at least her range isn't. Too many short shots. I'm already hearing muttering from the stands about whether she'll ever be all right.

Rebecca Allen still gets deked a lot on defense, which is a problem, but I like what she brings on offense. She needs to speed up a little, somehow. I'm not a fan of the play where she's set up on the left corner by the opposing bench, though. By the second or third time through, Seattle was reading it really well and pressuring her defensively. Keep hitting shots, Bec! Anything that lets us hear "Land Downunder" is a good thing. Carolyn Swords was solid- really, getting production from her is a bonus (though a bonus we sort of need right now), and I'll take what I can get. Tina Charles had her passing game on point, setting up the bigs on the inside. I think she was trying too hard at times, but we had no other really consistent options to work with. Even when she was tripled, what else was she going to do? No one was really hitting.

Sugar Rodgers shoots so prettily. She didn't contribute much else, and sometimes she shot more quickly than she should- there was one attempt after a couple of early makes that was clearly a heat check. I know she's been working with Spoon, and that's great, but I don't know if Spoon is the person who can help her learn to create her own shot and vary up her offense. Brittany Boyd had a really nice game. She's found multiple speeds and learned to pick her spots. Someone, either Spoon or Katie, has to get the weird spin out of her shot- she's putting too much on it somewhere, and the bounces are really funky. She made things happen on defense. She was one of the few bright spots.

There's only so much you can do with nine players and no real way to move up or down the standings. Two top defensive players out doesn't help either, and I think the team ran out of gas in the third quarter and out of give-a-damn in the fourth.

I thought officials who called a more physical game would favor our style, but perhaps not.

BHA was really underplayed, and I'm okay with that. Pink jerseys, yes, but no real accessories, and no accessories on the opponent. The auction wsn't hyped, and there wasn't a lot of stuff with survivors. It was sort of refreshing.

Could have been better. You take what you can get, and it's on to the next one.

Heh. KML and Stewart are greeting Rosemary (for those who don't know, she's the former UConn trainer of long standing- she suffered through Swin).

Both teams staying on the floor for the retirement ceremony. I'm sure Seattle is thrilled about this. There appears to be something about bananas. We're starting with a speech from RosGo. Now we've got a video tribute from kids (from her foundation?). Next are the video clips- Ruth Riley, Brian Agler, Camille Little, Kiah (uh, Kiah, you're here, aren't you?), Tamika Catchings, Brittany Boyd (I know you're here, Boyd, you're one of the only ones who showed up), and Geno Auriemma.

Video montage time! I miss the Detroit Shock. I see we're throwing the Chicago run and those three days in Atlanta down the memory hole.

"Swin! You said you weren't going to do it! You said you weren't going to cry!"

Madam President to the mic. Fifteen years. My God; Swin's been in the league for three-quarters of the league's existence, and Madam President just said that. "You have left fingerprints, and footprints, all over this league." Yes, and a fair few claw marks, too. Swin's a Bad Girl, after all.

Next up, Sue Bird, who is apparently the jelly to Swin's peanut butter. This gon' be good; I saw her speech/roast of Lauren Jackson. "I don't know about that peanut butter thing." Mwah-hahaha. "I've got many stories- but like I said, I'm going to be nice." She's really emphasizing Swin's work ethic and passion. "It was a joy to play with you. I don't know if it was a joy to room with you, per se." I want to hear the flat iron story now. Oh, so that's where all those terrible hashtags from the All-Star campaign came from! Swin does that. Also, Sue Bird doing Wu-Tang is worth the price of admission. "Hashtag go make some babies." I think Sue wants to be someone's auntie.

Next up, Tina Thompson, who has to follow that roast. And apparently traveled a long way to do so. Oh, come on, more stories that no one's sharing? Why are you torturing us like this, Tina T? Haven't you tortured Liberty fans enough? The emphasis here seems to be camaraderie. "If you have questions, I'll have answers, and if I don't have answers, I'll find them." New friendship goal.

"Shoutout... Pittsburgh?" RosGo seems confused by Tanisha's family. Tanisha gave Tina Charles the "oh God, my family is embarrassing me" face, and I swear she tried to get them to lower the volume. Tanisha at the mic now. "I've known Swin since I was 14 years old. I don't know if she's known me, but I've known her." D'awww. Veteran Swin taking bb Tanisha aside in chapel for conversation. Also sort of d'awww is Tanisha not quite getting the motto of Swin's foundation in the right order. The emphasis here is on Swin as WNBA leader and inspiration to fellow players. (Also, Spoon must be a kick to sit next to. Boyd almost ROFL'd out of her chair.)

Tina Charles up next. Oh, Tina. You just accidentally confessed to Swin committing a recruiting violation. This is kinda disjointed. I know Tina's a Husky and star of the show, but I don't know if I would have asked her to speak. But she's hitting her stride when talking about her charitable work and how Swin helped her shape that. And now she's all choked up. I didn't realize how much of a role model Swin was to bb Tina.

I think we're about to have a bit of mood whiplash. Bill Laimbeer's up next. RosGo seems scared of him. "We're going to draft Swin Cash, because we can't draft Sue Bird." I like Bill's incredulity at the Shock front office. "They asked me what else did I need, and I said I needed Swin Cash." Oh, hey, Chicago and Atlanta did happen! But we're going to gloss over the Crackhead era, huh? There's a lot you could build on from that and still be flattering. He's now talking about her preparation and her pride in the quality of her play. (This might not be the best night to bring that up, Bill.) He thinks she still has a lot to contribute to women's basketball off the court.

Thomas next. I don't respect him or Dolan enough to record his remarks.

Now Swin's on the mic. And she's got her notes on her phone to make sure she remembers who to think. Huh. They say you look more like your mother when you get older, but Swin and her mom seem to be going the opposite path. She's being frank that she doesn't like losing and she doesn't like big things happening after she loses- then again, her husband proposed after the Indiana loss last year. (My husband would not have taken that kind of risk.) Lots of people-thanking. Oh, hey- is her agent the dude who married Jae Kingi? "As Tina said, I ask a lot of questions." Now I imagine Swin leading her rookie teammates Socratically. This really comes off like an awards speech. "Lastly- sorry, I'm getting to the point." Nice touch to thank all the little people- the staff and such.

(That's someone I'm surprised didn't speak! Rosemary Ragle used to have a cutout of Swin on her door at UConn, after all...)

Stealth Storm! I thought I recognized people! "I played against Ticha! She dropped some dimes on me." Le'Coe Willingham, Ashley Robinson, and a couple of other ex-players are in the house too.

Ahahaha, Swin just shouted out Spoon, and Spoon had what I can only describe as a shit-eating grin on her face.

Swin's definition of "brief" is... not mine.

On the other hand, she just got a huge hand for shouting out her mom.

OH HELL YES. And Swin just turned her speech into a rallying call for the WNBA using their voices. Says her proudest moment was when the players spoke up for the #BlackLivesMatter protests. That finish was worth the wait. (Unfortunately, the "shut up, I have to pee" mark was right around the start of the speech getting good.)