A Storm's a brewin'

The Sun are in Seattle, preparing for the third game of their five-game road trip, a 10 p.m. (ET) tip with the Storm (7-5).

Besides the supportive fan base Seattle has, the Storm also have some of the better media coverage in the WNBA. For more insight on the Storm, the Seattle Times' Jayda Evans has one of the league's best blogs, where she reported today that Storm center Yolanda Griffith will miss her second consecutive game tonight with a left knee and ankle injury. Tanisha Wright, who Barbara Turner called a "best friend" in a story about her today in the Seattle P-I, will start in Griffith's place.

Here is the Scout Box for tonight's game, which is on MyTV9.

CONNECTICUT SUN at SEATTLE STORM
10 p.m. (ET)
KeyArena, Seattle
Records: Connecticut 8-2; Seattle 7-5.
Last game: Connecticut lost at Los Angeles, 98-93, in overtime on Friday; Seattle lost at Houston, 68-60, on Saturday.
Next game: Connecticut plays at Phoenix Wednesday; Seattle hosts Indiana Friday.
TV/Internet: MyTV9/www.connecticutsun.com.
Series: Connecticut leads the all-time series, 7-6, with all its losses coming in Seattle. The Sun swept last year’s season series, winning, 76-63, at Key Arena on July 11 and, 76-58, at Mohegan Sun Arena on July 20.
Injuries: Connecticut—Kamesha Hairston (recovering from lateral meniscus surgery, day-to-day). Seattle—Yolanda Griffith (left knee and ankle soreness, out).
Scouting report: Lindsay Whalen is riding a double-digit scoring streak of 14 games, three shy of the franchise record set by Katie Douglas during the 2006 season. Over her last six games, Whalen is averaging 16.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and five assists. So far this season, she is playing at an MVP-type level, but Sun coach Mike Thibault said, “It’s pretty early in the season to talk about that stuff,” adding, “but she is playing like she should. She’s one of the best players in the league, and she’s playing like it.” Tonight’s match-up with Sue Bird pits the league’s top two distributors against one another. ... Thibault said he’s gone to more two-point-guard sets of late, which has helped take pressure off of Whalen. Jamie Carey played 28 minutes Friday, and rookie Ketia Swanier has come on strong as of late, hitting a 3-pointer in each of her last three games despite limited action. More importantly, she’s played with more confidence. “Part of it is she’s had a bunch of good practices in a row,” Thibault said. “We’ve given her a lot of court time in practice to run one of the groups and play. She’s stayed and has done extra work with her shooting most days. Those two things have contributed I think.” ... End of the line: The Sun rank last in the league in steals (6.0 per game) and blocks (2.3). Seattle is the league’s worst 3-point shooting team (27 percent).

— Matt Stout

Connecticut
1 Amber Holt 5.1
15 Asjha Jones 15.4
00 Tamika Whitmore 15.4
13 Lindsay Whalen 15.8
33 Jolene Anderson 5.9

Connecticut (reserves)
22 Barbara Turner 10.6
7 Sandrine Gruda 5.4
10 Jamie Carey 2.8

Seattle
15 Lauren Jackson 19.6
2 Swin Cash 12.5
30 Tanisha Wright 5.9
10 Sue Bird 11.5
22 Sheryl Swoopes 8.4

Seattle (reserves)
0 Shyra Ely 4.3
4 Katie Gearlds 2.3