By Bel Garcia
Seattle, WA - On a somber day at Climate Pledge Arena, the city of Seattle showed up for Sue Bird, who was playing her final regular season home game. She was honored prior to the game and received cheers from a sold-out crowd of 18,100, the largest count in Seattle Storm history. Throughout the game the “twins” video screens displayed key moments of Sue Bird’s career, with emphasis on her performances in each of the four Storm WNBA championships. All around Climate Pledge were photos of Sue Bird also representing key moments in her career. Looking through an energetic crowd tonight felt different, everyone was united in ensuring that Sue felt appreciated for being such a legend of the community, and there were a lot more homemade signs in the air.
Climate Pledge Arena saw it's highest attendance for a sporting event in it's history (Photo by Mathew Bermudez)
The Storm didn’t only have to play through all the emotions felt about this being Bird’s last regular season game. Seattle also had to play through the adversity of head coach Noelle Quinn being placed on Health and Safety protocols. Their competitor today was a team that they must keep an eye on as the regular season ends, the Las Vegas Aces, who stand in the way of Seattle clinching the highest seed in the Western Conference. The sense of urgency in this game was high for Seattle as they understand that their seeding fate will be decided within the next few games. Breanna Stewart and A’ja Wilson are each making a case at this point in the season for the title of MVP. The Aces would not make it easy on Breanna Stewart in the first half with several double teams coming from players with length like Wilson, Chelsea Gray, and Kia Stokes. Breanna found a way to have an MVP performance regardless, finding her stroke when the Storm needed it most, the second half. Stewie went on a run in the fourth quarter scoring on three possessions for the Storm and the last seven for the team to bring them within 2 points. Stewart ended the night with a second straight 30+ point game with 35 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 assists.
Climate Pledge Arena saw it's highest attendance for a sporting event in it's history (Photo by Mathew Bermudez)
A’ja Wilson had help from her Las Vegas teammates, she had a good performance as well, but her team also participated in being aggressive on the floor. The Aces had four players in double figures, along with Wilson, Jackie Young, Kelsey Plum, and Chelsea Gray also had at least 15 points. Chelsea Gray found her shot late in the game and responded to every Storm made basket with one of her own. A couple of sloppy possessions for Seattle late in the game also didn’t help in keeping this one close. Pokey Chatman, who filled in for head coach Noelle Quinn emphasized, “in the second half we just couldn’t take care of the basketball.” Ultimately the Aces kept their composure and didn’t fret when Seattle made a run, that was key for their win. A’ja Wilson praised her team’s ability to do so stating “this game is a game of runs, can’t get too high with your highs and can’t get too low with your lows; we were very composed in this game for 40 minutes.” Wilson and the Aces continue to look like a tough team to face in the future, their defense did just as good tonight holding the Gold Mamba (Jewell Loyd) to only one point and everyone but Stewie and Tina Charles to single digits. Chatman spoke about Loyd’s struggles tonight, she gave credit to the Aces for their defensive performance, acknowledged that Loyd had good looks today, but her shots weren’t going down.
Sue Bird shakes University of Washington alumni Kelsey Plums hand (Photo by Mathew Bermudez)
Sue signed off at the end of the game giving a speech that she didn’t know she’d be giving until the night before the game. In it she thanked everyone that made the day possible, and made sure the fans knew that we’d still see them in the playoffs. Most importantly, she thanked all the fans for being with her while she figured out who she was. Sue Bird is a legend in the Seattle community and her legacy will live on. Above all, Bird is the greatest athlete in Seattle history. The regular season in CPA may be over, but playoffs and final standings loom. Seattle has three more games on the road that will decide their placing in the playoffs.
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