Swoopes Out Tomorrow, Return Uncertain
Sheryl Swoopes is out of the hospital and resting at home, but did not join the Seattle Storm when the team traveled to Sacramento this afternoon for tomorrow's matchup with the Monarchs (7:00 p.m., 1150 AM KKNW).
"Tests were all negative," said Storm Head Coach Brian Agler, "so she's just going to be home resting here. She'll have another doctor's appointment tomorrow and then we'll have a better idea of what timetable we're talking about."
Swoopes suffered a concussion when she took an elbow to the head from Minnesota's Candice Wiggins during Saturday's Storm win over the Lynx. Because Swoopes was knocked unconscious by the blow, medical staff took extra precaution, taking Swoopes off on a stretcher.
Though the timetable for Swoopes' return is uncertain, Agler is anticipating being without her for a while.
"I kind of think she'll be out for the rest of the regular season," he said.
Swoopes had been coming off the bench because of a painful sore right heel. In her absence, however, the Storm is thin at guard. Katie Gearlds, who has primarily played both forward spots this season, saw time at shooting guard during the Storm's road trip when Swoopes left one game early and missed another entirely because of the heel.
- The Storm has an opportunity to sweep the season against Sacramento with a win. The two teams could end up playing in the first round of the playoffs, but Agler downplayed regular-season results being a factor. His main concern at this point is seeding.
"It's just a matter right now of trying to get first place in the Western Conference," Agler said. "We need one more win to secure second and we need to try to find a way to get ahead of San Antonio, so every game is very important."
- Storm center Yolanda Griffith is making her third trip back to Sacramento this season (including one during the preseason) after playing nine years with the Monarchs. At this point, going back isn't a big deal outside of the fact that she still makes her home in Sacramento.
"It's just basically going to see my family, spending time with my family," Griffith said. "I'm going home to get me a home-cooked meal and when the game comes, I'm going to be ready for the game."
Contact Kevin
Storm Tracker RSS
4 comments:
Kevin, How has Kristen been doing in practice? Any chance she'll see the floor in the next three games with Sheryl out?
At this time of year, there's not a lot of practice per se -- the focus is on preparing for upcoming opponents and maybe cleaning up some things on offense and defense when the team does get on the court, not the kind of competitive situations you have in training camp or early in the season.
That said, there's definitely a chance Kristen could get some more work the rest of the way if the Storm needs an additional ballhandler on the floor.
This is kristens opp to show what she can do - she has been very patiently sitting waiting. I think she could bring something to the floor and she deserves to at this stage!!!!
Kristen is on this team to do one thing... sell tickets. She is a great practice player but no more then that!!! I am sure she might see some mop up minutes if we are winning by a lot but otherwise this is a time to get ready for the post season. A
Post a Comment