After committing 16 turnovers in the first three quarters, the Seattle Storm took better care of the ball in the fourth quarter to give themselves an opportunity for yet another dramatic Sue Bird game-winner.
Yet in a wild finish, three attempts by Bird and one by forward Swin Cash fell short and the Storm ended up suffering a disappointing 58-56 loss to the New York Liberty.
It all began with guard Cappie Pondexter giving the Liberty a 57-56 lead with 41.1 seconds left in the game on one of her patented drives to the basket. The Storm advanced the ball and took at timeout with 26.6 seconds left to set up a play that everyone had to know was going to Bird, who just had a game-winning 3-point shot on Friday night against the Connecticut Sun.
Indeed Bird found herself open in the corner and apparently even to her own surprise, air-balled her first attempt at a game-winner on the night. At first the ball was awarded to the Liberty after bouncing out of a crowd out of bounds, but after some discussion - and figuring out how much time should be placed on the shot clock - the officials chose to give the ball back to Storm for another attempt.
And again, Bird was the expected target.
With 17.4 seconds left and the shot clock turned off, Bird got another attempt off an inbounds play and missed another shot, this time a contested pull-up jumper just inside the free throw line.The Storm came up with that rebound and burned yet another timeout to set up another play.
And again, Bird was the expected target.
Once again, they ran a sideline inbounds play, with Cash receiving the ball just above the elbow to set up a handoff to Bird. It ended up being something of a play action fake and when Cash's defender, Plenette Pierson, bit on the fake handoff, Cash turned and made one of her patented drives to the basket with the opportunity to win the game with a layup on a play that we've seen her convert or draw a foul on countless times in a Storm uniform. But true to form, the Liberty rotated well to force Cash to change her shot at the rim and it fell just short.
But after Camille Little fouled Pierson on the ensuing rebounding battle, Pierson made 1-of-2 free throws, after which the Storm would have one final opportunity to win the game after taking yet another timeout.
Bird was the expected target on last time.
And once again, the Liberty's defense would rise to the occasion and put their final mark on the game as guard Essence Carson blocked Bird's running jumper just below the free throw line from behind and seal themselves a well-earned 58-56 win.
Though her performance might have been overshadowed by the eternity that elapsed between her go-ahead shot and the final buzzer, Cappie Pondexter was impressive in leading the Liberty with a game-high 19 points, five assists and no turnovers. Pierson added 10 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks in a solid defensive performance throughout.
After a hot shooting first half, Bird cooled off in the second half scoring a team-high 17 point s on 6-for-18 shooting while Tanisha Wright was also relatively quiet in the second half finishing with 11 points on 5-for-11 shooting. Cash had a rough night even before the missed game-winning layup, going 1-for-13 from the field.
The loss squandered an opportunity for the Storm to move into second place in the Western Conference standings with the San Antonio Silver Stars falling 81-68 tonight in Indiana. That means the burden of opportunity falls to the Phoenix Mercury who are currently playing the first place Minnesota Lynx and can move up to second place and leave the Storm in fourth with a win.