What won’t show up in the box score is the defensive void left by Lauren Jackson. The Storm are getting killed inside by Taj McWilliams-Franklin and from the perimeter by Cappie Pondexter. Rather than settling for perimeter shots as usual that Liberty are taking advantage of the the missing 6-foot-5 defender for the Storm.
The Storm did however show signs of life in the second quarter with Jana Vesela coming off the bench for two big threes and Swin Cash continuing to be aggressive going to the basket. The big difference though in the second quarter is that the Storm started to find easier shots, both due to more aggression going to the basket and increasingly lax Liberty defense. The Storm shot 57.1 percent in the second quarter, including 4-of-5 from the 3-point line to cut a lad that was as much as 10 in the second down to four.
If the Storm can cut down on the turnovers and continue to go to the basket, they’ll have a good chance to win this game without Jackson, a huge boost to an already strong team.