Game: Seattle Storm (6-7) at New York Liberty (4-9) When: 1 p.m. Saturday Where: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey Meeting: First TV: None
One of the WNBA’s most balanced scoring teams just added more depth.
The Seattle Storm signed Svetlana Abrosimova Friday. A forward on the Storm’s 2010 WNBA championship team, Abrosimova will return after playing two years in the Russian Premier League to join the Storm Saturday afternoon when it tries to extend its five-game winning streak against the New York Liberty. “Svetlana obviously has got experience with our team,” said head coach Brian Agler on the team’s website. “She was part of our championship team in 2010 — played a really big role on that team. She’s an aggressive defensive player; she’s a risk-taker. I don’t think that’s so bad for our team right now. I think she gives us length on the perimeter. She gives us another ballhandler in the pick-and-roll. I think she’ll do well with the people we have.”
The nine-year WNBA veteran, who won a college national title with Sue Bird in 2000 at Connecticut averaged 7.6 points and 3.2 rebounds per game during the Storm’s most recent championship run. She became available after Russia left her off the national team she led to a bronze medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics. The Storm cut oft-injured Victoria Dunlap Wednesday to make room for Abrosimova.
Agler thinks his newest addition can help Seattle on both ends as it tries to continue its revival from a poor start.
“There are some areas that we need to improve in,” he said on the team site. “And one is getting transition baskets. Two is getting to the free throw line. Three is getting second opportunities. I think Svetlana can help us in all those areas.”
Seattle Stats/Notes:
- Sue Bird logged another stellar performance in Tuesday’s 79-71 win over the Mystics. She finished with 25 points on 9-14 shooting. She leads the team in scoring with 13.5 ppg.
- Ann Wauters (10.3) and reserve Tina Thompson (10.1) also are averaging double figures.
- Saturday’s game is Seattle’s second in four-game road swing. The Storm is 2-6 away from KeyArena.
- After a horrific 1-7 start, the Storm is fourth in the Western Conference, one game behind the San Antonio Silver Stars.
- At 37, Thompson is still scorching defenses, shooting 89.5 percent from the charity stripe and nearly 47 percent from beyond the arc.
New York Stats/Notes
- The Liberty, fifth in the East, is led by Cappie Pondexter. The guard from Rutgers is averaging 18.7 points per game on 40 percent shooting.
- The Liberty came out flat Sunday against the Atlanta Dream, falling behind 26-16 after one quarter and never caught up, losing 74-64.
Coaches: Brian Agler is in his fifth season with Seattle. John Whisenant is in his second season with the Liberty.
Coming Up: The Storm continues its four-game road swing Sunday against the Phoenix Mercury.
SEATTLE STORM 2012 SCHEDULE/RESULTS:
| Date | Opponent | W/L | Score | Rec. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5/18/12 | vs. Los Angeles | L | 66-72 | 0-1 |
| 5/22/12 | at Los Angeles | L | 74-61 | 0-2 |
| 5/27/12 | at Minnesota | L | 84-71 | 0-3 |
| 6/1/12 | vs. Tulsa | W | 76-58 | 1-3 |
| 6/3/12 | at Los Angeles | L | 65-67 | 1-4 |
| 6/6/12 | at Minnesota | L | 55-79 | 1-5 |
| 6/9/12 | at San Antonio | L | 67-80 | 1-6 |
| 6/13/12 | at Chicago | L | 58-74 | 1-7 |
| 6/15/12 | at Tulsa | W | 86-73 | 2-7 |
| 6/17/12 | vs. Minnesota | W | 65-62 | 3-7 |
| 6/22/12 | vs. San Antonio | W | 82-76 | 4-7 |
| 6/24/12 | vs. Washington | W | 72-55 | 5-7 |
| 6/26/12 | at Washington | W | 79-71 | 6-7 |
| 6/30/12 | at New York | — | — | — |
| 7/1/12 | at Connecticut | — | — | — |
| 7/7/12 | at Los Angeles | — | — | — |
| 7/8/12 | vs. Phoenix | — | — | — |
| 7/11/12 | vs. Atlanta | — | — | — |
| 7/13/12 | at Phoenix | — | — | — |
| 8/16/12 | vs. Phoenix | — | — | — |
| 8/18/12 | vs. Los Angeles | — | — | — |
| 8/21/12 | vs. Minnesota | — | — | — |
| 8/23/12 | vs. Indiana | — | — | — |
| 8/26/12 | vs. New York | — | — | — |
| 8/30/12 | vs. Phoenix | — | — | — |
| 9/6/12 | vs. Tulsa | — | — | — |
| 9/8/12 | at Tulsa | — | — | — |
| 9/11/12 | at Atlanta | — | — | — |
| 9/12/12 | at Indiana | — | — | — |
| 9/14/12 | at San Antonio | — | — | — |
| 9/16/12 | vs. Connecticut | — | — | — |
| 9/18/12 | vs. Chicago | — | — | — |
| 9/21/12 | vs. San Antonio | — | — | — |
| 9/23/12 | at Phoenix | — | — | — |
6 Comments
Great (if not surprising) news. Svet has been expected back with the Storm for a while, but it’ll be good to see her in uniform…she’s a solid vet who can play the 2 or 3 and contributes in a lot of ways that don’t always show up on the stat sheet. She’ll definitely help.
I was a little surprised that it was Dunlap who was cut loose, though. She came to Seattle at the cost of a very good interior defender and great “team-first” role player in Ashley Robinson, who has not really been replaced in either role. I expected the casualty would’ve been Alysha Clark, who was a great scorer in college but has only played 15 minutes this season and is clearly not in Agler’s plans for 2012.
Agler should start making plans for Clark then…she’s still the only player on the Seattle storm this year who’s been double teamed by any opposing team and that team was the Minnesota lynx . Meaning that if opposing teams respect her prolific scoring ability, especially the league and press favorite to win the title this year, why wouldn’t a coach use that to his advantage?? The great thing about Clark is that she’s played against giants her whole career and has convincingly showed them up with her athleticism, strength and amazing footwork…there’s not a big in the league who can keep up with her not one single big..there wasn’t a big in college that could keep up with her..without looking at official stats, I’d say that at least half of Clarks 27.8 ppg National leading scorer average as a collegiate player consisted of buckets she made from the charity stripe as an 80%+ free throw shooter. So she’s not 6 foot everything..so what..if she can score (which she’s proven time and again she can do on a regular basis) and or get to the freethrow line from getting hacked all the time by a slow footed big and score prolifically there as well..it’s actually hurting the Storm to not use this player more often and to their advantage and any opposing teams disadvantage. It doesn’t benefit anybody, the team and Clark included, for her to keep riding the bench until 45 seconds are left in the game..sorry Agler..but you’re right and wrong in your statement when you say she doesn’t play mop up minutes and she doesn’t you are right about that…she plays mop up seconds….get her in the game earlier..leave her in the game to work through the jitters..all the seconds combined that she’s played this season..don’t even add up to one whole quarter..how can you expect a player to progress…if you never give them the chance to do so….she has the heart of a winner and a leader and a fighter and the athletic ability to back that up…. just my two cents.
Great (if not surprising) news. Svet has been expected back with the Storm for a while, but it’ll be good to see her in uniform…she’s a solid vet who can play the 2 or 3 and contributes in a lot of ways that don’t always show up on the stat sheet. She’ll definitely help.
I was a little surprised that it was Dunlap who was cut loose, though. She came to Seattle at the cost of a very good interior defender and great “team-first” role player in Ashley Robinson, who has not really been replaced in either role. I expected the casualty would’ve been Alysha Clark, who was a great scorer in college but has only played 15 minutes this season and is clearly not in Agler’s plans for 2012.
Agler should start making plans for Clark then…she’s still the only player on the Seattle storm this year who’s been double teamed by any opposing team and that team was the Minnesota lynx . Meaning that if opposing teams respect her prolific scoring ability, especially the league and press favorite to win the title this year, why wouldn’t a coach use that to his advantage?? The great thing about Clark is that she’s played against giants her whole career and has convincingly showed them up with her athleticism, strength and amazing footwork…there’s not a big in the league who can keep up with her not one single big..there wasn’t a big in college that could keep up with her..without looking at official stats, I’d say that at least half of Clarks 27.8 ppg National leading scorer average as a collegiate player consisted of buckets she made from the charity stripe as an 80%+ free throw shooter. So she’s not 6 foot everything..so what..if she can score (which she’s proven time and again she can do on a regular basis) and or get to the freethrow line from getting hacked all the time by a slow footed big and score prolifically there as well..it’s actually hurting the Storm to not use this player more often and to their advantage and any opposing teams disadvantage. It doesn’t benefit anybody, the team and Clark included, for her to keep riding the bench until 45 seconds are left in the game..sorry Agler..but you’re right and wrong in your statement when you say she doesn’t play mop up minutes and she doesn’t you are right about that…she plays mop up seconds….get her in the game earlier..leave her in the game to work through the jitters..all the seconds combined that she’s played this season..don’t even add up to one whole quarter..how can you expect a player to progress…if you never give them the chance to do so….she has the heart of a winner and a leader and a fighter and the athletic ability to back that up…. just my two cents.
The team played so many games on the road to open the season. Despite the fact the Sonics aren’t around they still have scheduling conflicts at the Key. They’ll close out on a favorable schedule though.
The team played so many games on the road to open the season. Despite the fact the Sonics aren’t around they still have scheduling conflicts at the Key. They’ll close out on a favorable schedule though.