Friday, June 6, 2008

Friday Notebook

- Wednesday was Storm forward Swin Cash's anticipated first trip back to Detroit since she was traded by the Shock to Seattle in February. Cash had 10 points in the Storm's loss.

"I thought it was fine," Cash said of the reaction she got from fans at The Palace of Auburn Hills. "They cheered when my name was called, but after the tip went up, obviously you expect them to be cheering for their team. I saw a lot of fans that had been fans of mine for a long time there. At the end of the day, it was just basketball."

After the game, Cash told reporters she had nearly gone to the wrong locker room when she had arrived with the Storm. On the court, her experience proved a plus because she knew exactly what her former Detroit teammates were doing.

"It was funny," she said. "They would call a play and I'm out there on the floor trying to yell it to our team because I knew what was coming."

The two teams play again tomorrow at KeyArena (7:00 p.m., FSN, 1150 AM KKNW, TIX), completing the regular-season series.

- Foul trouble has become a recurring issue for Storm center Yolanda Griffith. Starting with the Storm's May 24 loss at San Antonio, when Griffith fouled out in 21 minutes, she has averaged five fouls per game - including precisely five in the team's last three games. Early foul trouble has limited Griffith's minutes.

"I think officials are really watching her," said Storm Head Coach Brian Agler. "She's been in the league for 12 years now. Other coaches complain about how she plays and they call the league offense and I don't think she gets a lot of the benefit of the doubt, in all honesty. At the same time, there's some things she can clean up to help herself. We'll talk about that."

- Storm rookie Kimberly Beck watched practice from the sidelines in street clothes.

"Yesterday on the bus, her eye was really bothering her," explained Agler. "We traveled all day, so we didn't get a chance to get it looked at yesterday. She went to the doctor this morning. They think she has some kind of virus, so they had to put some ointment in there."

Agler said the Storm would see tomorrow how Beck feels before determining her status for the game. Beck scored her first WNBA basket in Detroit, knocking down a key three-pointer during the third quarter.

Ashley Robinson also sat out late in practice with ice on her right Achilles, which bothered her to some extent. Robinson went through most of the practice.

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