Seattle Is WNBA Champ

When you’ve waited 25 years to win a championship, as Seattle has, you can be forgiven for acting a little goofy.

Cutting down the nets after a title win is something that is supposed to happen only in college tournaments. But Seattle won’t apologize for net-cutting, champagne spraying, endless hip-hop riffs or bad conga lines.

Once the final horn sounded, concluding the Storm’s 74-60 victory over the Connecticut Sun before a delirious, sold-out KeyArena crowd of 17,072 and giving Seattle the 2004 WNBA championship Tuesday night, it was time to par-tay. And Seattle’s citizens had to hope they hadn’t forgotten how to do so. It is the first title for the Storm, a WNBA franchise established in 2000, and the first title in Seattle since the SuperSonics won the 1978-79 NBA championship.

The Storm is the sixth Western Conference champion to win the title in the league’s eight years.

“This can do great things for the city of Seattle,” said Storm guard Sue Bird, who won two NCAA basketball championships at Connecticut. “Championships bring a lot of things, people, money and excitement. That’s what it’s all about.”

Seattle got here because of its team effort, seen in a 36-29 rebounding edge and in holding the Sun to 32.8% shooting while the Storm shot 44.3%. But some things stood out more than others.

Such as series most valuable player Betty Lennox, who scored a game-high 23 points and was the key part of a 13-2 run midway in the second half that brought the Storm out to a 59-46 lead with 9:07 left and effectively extinguished Connecticut’s title hopes.

“Everything that I’ve been through, so many teams I’ve been on,” said Lennox, who was the sixth player chosen in the 2003 dispersal draft and has played on four teams. “So many situations that I’ve been in.... I’m speechless right about now.”

Storm forward Kamila Vodichkova passed up a chance to play for the Czech Republic Olympic team to get ready for Seattle’s season. Vodichkova, who had seven points in the first two games combined, delivered 14 points and four rebounds and battled Sun post players Taj McWilliams-Franklin, Wendy Palmer-Daniel (playing despite a sore shoulder from Sunday’s Game 2) and Asjha Jones.

“I feel so very good,” Vodichkova said. “This is the biggest accomplishment I have achieved in my life.”

And there was Anne Donovan, who became the first female coach to win a WNBA title. A historical moment she relished.

“Until right now it’s been about winning the championship. I’ve said that and I meant that,” Donovan said. “But I’m glad that there’s a woman that’s won a championship. I’m very glad.

“It’s something we’ve been striving for. I think there’s a lot of great woman coaches out there. In order to get the next level of respect we have to win championships, conference championships, WNBA championships. For some of the credibility issues that people are reluctant to give female coaches, this will help.”

Connecticut has its own issues, such as never getting a lead in either of the two games played in Seattle. Or having to depend too heavily on outstanding forward Nykesha Sales, who had a team-best 18 points but was five for 12 from the field.

The Sun starting lineup struggled against the Storm defense, going a collective 12 for 43. The toughest night belonged to Katie Douglas. Looking worn from having to defend Bird and, at times, Lennox, Douglas missed the 11 shots she attempted. Her six points came from the free-throw line.

“I’d like to congratulate Seattle. They played terrific tonight,” Sun Coach Mike Thibault said. “They had a lot of people step up and be really good. They made shots and we didn’t. They got more people involved in the game than we did, and that ended up being the difference.”

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Gender Breakthrough

Not only is Seattle’s Anne Donovan the first woman to coach a WNBA champion, she’s the first to win a title in any U.S. women’s pro league. The past champions:

*--* Season Team Coach WOMEN’S PRO BASKEBALL LEAGUE 1978-79 Houston Angels Don Knodel 1980-81 New York Stars Dean Meminger 1981-82 Nebraska Wranglers Steve Kirk WOMEN’S AMERICAN BASKETBALL ASSN. 1984 Dallas Diamonds Greg Williams AMERICAN BASKETBALL LEAGUE 1996-97 Columbus Quest Brian Agler 1997-98 Columbus Quest Brian Agler WNBA 1997 Houston Comets Van Chancellor 1998 Houston Comets Van Chancellor 1999 Houston Comets Van Chancellor 2000 Houston Comets Van Chancellor 2001 Sparks Michael Cooper 2002 Sparks Michael Cooper 2003 Detroit Shock Bill Laimbeer

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