Tag: Seattle Storm

2022 WNBA Semifinals Preview: Odds, analysis and picks for Aces-Storm and Sky-Sun

Final Four!

What a heck of an opening round of postseason basketball we just witnessed.

Each series provided its hint of suspicion, including Vegas nearly trailing an undermanned Phoenix Mercury in the fourth quarter of Game 1, the Sky and Sun surviving win-or-go-home games on the road, and the Storm putting away a sneaky longshot-favorite in Elena Delle Donne and the Mystics.

But when the dust settled, all four of the higher-seeded teams were left standing. And as we roll into the semis, the action is only going to get better.

Can the Aces and Sun make it to the Finals to amend for their disappointing semifinal exits a year ago? Or will the Sky and Storm make it back to the finals for a shot at another title?

All odds via Tipico Sportsbook

Megan Rapinoe attended Sue Bird’s farewell game, then scored a goal hours later

The OL Reign star pulled some double duty on a day when her partner Sue Bird was celebrated

Megan Rapinoe had herself a busy Sunday.

The OL Reign forward managed to attend the final career home game of her partner Sue Bird, then scooted across town to make it in time for OL Reign’s match just hours later.

Not only did Rapinoe play for OL Reign, but she started and scored her first goal of the season in an ultimately losing effort against the Houston Dash.

It was quite the feat given the two games started just three hours apart. The Seattle Storm tipped off at noon local time at Climate Pledge Arena, while OL Reign’s match started at 3 p.m. just about three miles down the road.

Rapinoe could be seen greeting Bird in the tunnel on the way out for warm-ups, then was on the court taking pictures as a sellout crowd honored the point guard as she gets set to end an illustrious 21-year pro career.

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – AUGUST 07: Sue Bird #10 of the Seattle Storm kisses her fiancee Megan Rapinoe before her last regular season home game of her career against the Las Vegas Acesat Climate Pledge Arena on August 07, 2022 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

According to the Seattle Times, Rapinoe managed to stay at the game until halftime before she made her way to Lumen Field.

Rapinoe got OL Reign on the board with an early goal, but Houston struck back with a brace from Ebony Salmon to ultimately prevail 2-1.

“You can’t help but be in awe, be grateful, honestly, to be able to witness such an athlete like that and for it to be my girlfriend is extra special,” Rapinoe said after the game of Bird. “I’ll try to dust off this really horrible [loss] for what will undoubtedly be a great celebration tonight, but this one stings a little bit.”

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Seahawks fans react to Russell Wilson getting booed at Storm game

Wilson’s Broncos will visit the Seahawks Week 1 on Monday Night Football.

WNBA legend Sue Bird is calling it a career, having played nearly 20 years, making 13 All-Star teams and winning four championships with the Seattle Storm. Bird played her last game yesterday at Climate Pledge Arena. She goes out as the greatest athlete in Seattle history and a lot of people gave her shoutouts on social media as well as a video tribute during the game, including some Seahawks.

One of the well-known athletes who shared a message for Bird was former Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson. Apparently when his image came on-screen at the game, he got booed by the fans in attendance. Here’s how Seattle fans are reacting.

Wilson’s Broncos will visit the Seahawks in Week 1 on Monday Night Football. It will be interesting to see what the reaction is at Lumen Field. Odds are no matter how it goes most Seattle fans will be missing Wilson a great deal by midseason.

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Warriors’ Jordan Poole makes appearance at Storm vs. Lynx game

Wearing a Sue Bird jersey, Jordan Poole was in attendance for the Storm vs. Lynx game on Wednesday.

While soaking up the offseason, Jordan Poole is still making stops on his NBA championship tour. On Wednesday, the Golden State Warriors breakout guard made an appearance at the Climate Arena in Seattle for the Seattle Storm’s WNBA contest against the Minnesota Lynx.

Poole sat courtside while wearing a Sue Bird No. 10 Storm jersey. With Poole in attendance, the Storm ran away with an 89-77 victory over the Lynx. Following their win on Wednesday, the Storm improved to a 20-12 record on the season.

Four-time WNBA All-Star Breanna Stewart led the Storm with a game-high 33 points on 13-of-20 shooting from the field with four made 3-pointers along with eight boards, five assists and two steals in 31 minutes.

Bird added 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the floor with six dimes and four rebounds in 26 minutes for the Storm.

Below is a look at Poole sitting courtside at the game on Wednesday.

Via @seattlestorm on Twitter:

Via @WNBA on Twitter:

Via @espnW on Twitter:

This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! 

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Storm and Mercury exchange amazing moments of great Sue Bird-Diana Taurasi battles

This was a fun way of celebrating these two WNBA greats before their final faceoff.

The Seattle Storm and Phoenix Mercury are getting ready to face each other for the third time this season. But this 2022 trilogy is more significant than any old regular-season matchup.

This Friday night showdown will be the final matchup between Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi after nearly 20 years.

To celebrate the two and some of the most historic matchups between them, the Mercury’s and Storm’s Twitter accounts had a little fun reminiscing. The two went back and forth on the social media platform on Friday afternoon in the lead-up to the showdown.

Here’s the hilarious, but wholesome, thread of the two organizations exchanging memories.

Start from the bottom and scroll your way to the top.

Enjoy. #TheGreatestDuo

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12 fantastic photos of Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi through the years

We’ll miss watching these two compete against one another.

Two of the WNBA’s greatest are getting ready to face off for one final time. When the Seattle Storm and Phoenix Mercury hit the hardwood on Friday night in Phoenix, it will be the end of a legendary Sue Bird-Diana Taurasi rivalry, one that has Bird up 31 games to 28 over 59 head-to-head matchups.

Friends, college teammates, WNBA opponents, Olympic gold medalists, broadcast partners — you name it, Sue and Diana have had quite the basketball journey during this 21st century.

Here is a series of photos of the two together that’ll make you reminisce, bring you joy, and appreciate them even more as they compete against each other for the last time.

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Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi face off for the final time on Friday. Here’s how to bet on it.

Who is going to outshine the other in their final matchup?

All odds via Tipico Sportsbook.

The two have a ton of matchups against one another under their belts. I mean, A TON.

Bird holds a 25-20 advantage in regular-season victories, while Taurasi has two more playoff wins (8) than Bird in their head-to-heads.

Diana has the latest laugh, which then led to this post-game embrace.

Although, Bird’s series wins over Diana are probably the more meaningful, as they led to championships.

The Mercury are 5.5-point underdogs on this Friday night despite being at home. And they’ll need this win (and many more down the stretch of the season) if they want to sneak into the 2022 playoffs, which they currently sit on the outside of.

Meanwhile, the Storm are cruising along in Bird’s final go-around. They have +380 odds to win this season’s WNBA championship.

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The Sky and Storm are looking like two of the WNBA’s best, so was Wednesday’s matchup a Finals preview?

Are we going to get a Sky-Storm Finals?

If you woke up early enough for the 9:00 am PST tip, you watched the Seattle Storm and Chicago Sky (-2.5) play an incredible game of basketball this morning.

Seattle’s early lead showed a glimpse of how its style of play could be poison for this Chicago defense until the Sky made some adjustments and battled back to an impressive 78-74 victory.

From the Storm’s Big 3 to Chicago’s championship roster, the immense amount of talent that took the floor was enough to tune in for. But actually watching these two squads match up with one another for 40 minutes led me to wonder if they will inevitably meet in the WNBA Finals.

The cases for each are obvious. Chicago won the 2021 WNBA championship and has only proceeded to get better. The Sky lost Diamond DeShields and Stefanie Dolson during free agency but added potential Sixth Woman of the Year candidate Rebekkah Gardner and former 2019 Finals MVP Emma Meesseman, who have both fit like a glove.

And Wednesday morning’s win over the Storm pulled them two games ahead of second place in the WNBA standings, making the Sky are pretty safe bet (+200 at Tipico Sportsbook) to repeat.

Seattle’s odds are longer at +380, but there’s reason to expect them back in the Finals. As we know, Seattle’s Big 3 has two WNBA championships and no postseason series losses when its core of Sue Bird, Breanna Stewart and Jewell Loyd are healthy and able to finish the season. Now with the emergence of Ezi Magbegor and the addition of Tina Charles, head coach Noelle Quinn has a lot of lineup versatility.

But should these two teams ultimately meet on the biggest stage, it won’t be a cakewalk for either.

Both the Sky and Storm have 1-1 series splits with the Las Vegas Aces (+155), who own the No. 2 spot in the standings, while the Sky have two wins over No. 3 Connecticut (+450) and Seattle has two losses. And that’s before throwing the fifth-seeded Washington Mystics in the mix who have the bulk of their 2019 championship core intact, plus other proven players with championship experience.

Playoff matchups will likely give us a better idea of what could realistically happen. So, as each team has about 10 or so games remaining before the regular season ends, the last few weeks of the year will be something worth paying extreme attention to.

Y’all ready for August?

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Breanna Stewart’s incredible new kicks are the first WNBA signature shoes in years

These shoes are beautifully done.

In 1995, Sheryl Swoopes and Nike debuted the Nike Air Swoopes, to make Swoopes the first woman in sports history to get a signature shoe. From there, many of the sport’s icons like Lisa Leslie, Dawn Staley and Diana Taurasi, carried the torch in an era of WNBA stars with signature shoes. A nearly 15-year era that ultimately ended with Candace Parker’s Adidas Ace Commander and Versatility in 2010.

But the return of the signature sneaker is back in the WNBA, with Puma Basketball and Breanna Stewart officially introducing the Stewie 1 Quiet Fire, Stewart’s first signature shoe.

Here’s a look at the heat:

Clean, right?

And it only makes sense that the first signature women’s basketball shoe in years goes to Stewie, a two-time WNBA champion, two-time Finals MVP, four-time All-Star, one-time league MVP and one of the faces of the modern WNBA.

Perhaps we’ll see Stewart debut her new shoe in this weekend’s All-Star Game between Team Stewart and Team Wilson.

Regardless, there’s a chance this could be the shoe that ushers in Stewie’s second MVP (+220 odds at Tipico Sportsbook), and third WNBA championship (+400).

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Four former Notre Dame players named WNBA All-Stars

Which All-Star is your favorite?

[autotag]Muffet McGraw[/autotag] isn’t long removed from coach, so her legacy in form of WNBA players will continue for some time. Eventually, we hope to see the same effects from [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag]’s coaching. For now, Notre Dame fans should be pleased that four former Irish players have been named to the 2022 WNBA All-Star Game. No other university has more representation in this year’s event.

The number of Irish alumni in this year’s game became official with the announcement of the 12 reserves, On Saturday, they, along with the 10 selected starters, will be split up into teams captained by A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces and Breanna Stewart of the Seattle Storm. The teams then will face off in the game, which is being held in Chicago.

If you’re a Notre Dame women’s basketball enthusiast, you won’t be disappointed with this game. Here are the players for you to watch and reminisce about: