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Mechelle VoepelESPN.com
CloseMechelle Voepel covers the WNBA, women’s college basketball, and other college sports for espnW. Voepel began covering women’s basketball in 1984, and has been with ESPN since 1996.
Seattle veteran point guard Sue Bird and Dallas rookie forward Satou Sabally collided midway through the fourth quarter of the Storm’s 107-95 victory Wednesday.
Both players left the court and didn’t return to action. There was no definitive word on their status after the game.
Bird, who turns 40 in October, is the oldest active player in the WNBA. She missed last season after knee surgery and has been limited to 11 of the Storm’s 20 games this season with continued knee problems. However, when she has played, she has had a positive impact on the Storm, averaging 9.8 points and 5.2 assists.
“She banged that same knee. I’m not sure how bad it is,” Seattle coach Gary Kloppenburg said after Wednesday’s game. “She was walking around OK at the end, so hopefully it’s nothing too serious.”
With the victory, the Storm (17-3) clinched a double bye into the semifinals, which start Sept. 20. Seattle could still fall short of the No. 1 seed; Las Vegas (15-4) remains the other team in the running for that. But even if the Storm lose their final two games, they can’t drop lower than the No. 2 seed, based on a tiebreaker they have against Los Angeles, which is currently third at 15-5.
Since all games are in the bubble in Bradenton, Florida, there is no home-court advantage linked to seeding as there normally would be. Kloppenburg said the Storm would still like to get the top seed, but he could afford to rest Bird until the semifinals if need be.
As for Sabally, the No. 2 draft pick out of Oregon, she is in the running for rookie of the year and had one of her better games of the season Wednesday with 25 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. She is averaging 13.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.
“She’s not feeling well right now,” said Dallas coach Brian Agler, who indicated Sabally had hit her head in the collision with Bird. “I don’t know what her status is; we’ll probably know more tomorrow.”
The Wings are 7-13 and remain in the eighth and final WNBA playoff spot with two games left to play. Dallas faces Chicago on Friday and New York on Sunday.