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Wendy Palmer

Katie Gearlds

Ashley Robinson

Through three games, that kind of performance has yet to materialize. Friday's loss against San Antonio highlighted the shortcoming, as the Silver Stars got 34 points from their reserves to just four by the Storm - two of those coming after the game was already decided.

"I am somewhat surprised that we haven't gotten that," said Storm Coach Anne Donovan.

"Every player goes through good games and bad games. I'm totally confident she'll come out of that." Terrence Vaccaro/NBAE/Getty

So far this season, a comparison of the Storm bench's performance with that of opposing reserves shows the Storm second unit coming up short, particularly in terms of scoring:

BENCH COMPARISON

Pts FG% Reb Ast Storm 21 .267 26 7 Opponents 74 .368 27 15

Because of the depth of the Storm's starting five, it's not necessary that the bench outscore or outplay opposing benches. Given how many minutes the Storm's starters play, in fact, it's unlikely that will happen with the current lineup. (Only two WNBA teams, Houston and New York, have had their starters play a higher percentage of the team's minutes than the Storm this season.) However, as Donovan solidifies her rotation, it is important that the Storm's reserves maximize the minutes they do get.

So far, that's been true of the Storm's frontcourt reserves. Veteran Palmer, coming back from surgery to repair her Achilles tendon, has been solid.

"Wendy's been doing what we need her to do in her minutes," said Donovan. "She's been rebounding the basketball and helping our offense to stay smooth."

Robinson has also been effective. She was on the floor for the entirety of the Storm's 44-9 run during the second half of the win over Houston on Opening Night. After a solid three days of practice for Robinson, Donovan is looking to find her more minutes. That's tricky with a starting frontcourt of Janell Burse and Lauren Jackson that is one of the league's best.

Where the Storm bench has come up lacking, then, has been in the backcourt. Tanisha Wright has been inconsistent as the backup to point guard Sue Bird, while rookie Gearlds has yet to find her shot through three WNBA games.

Wright was thrust into a difficult situation in the Storm's opener when Donovan decided to sit Bird for the entire second quarter rather than risk a third foul before halftime. Wright helped lead a Storm run to take the lead early in the period, but the team's offense disappeared when Betty Lennox joined Bird and Burse on the bench, giving the Storm three reserves on the floor together.

Turnovers have continued to be an issue for Wright, who has five (and five assists) in 27 minutes this season. However, she came up big in the second half at San Antonio, leading an 8-0 run to start the fourth quarter that got the Storm back in the game.

With Gearlds, the key is patience. The Storm's first-round pick has proven herself as a shooter, both at the college level and during training camp. Both coach and player are confident Gearlds' shot will come around in time.

SLOW STARTERS

Along with the Storm's Katie Gearlds, the top picks from April's WNBA Draft have not shot the ball well to start their careers: Player Pick FGs FG% Harding 1 20-62 .323 Davenport 2 4-11 .364 Price 3 5-21 .238 Quinn 4 2-16 .125 Jackson 5 1-3 .333 Mosby 6 2-4 .500 Gearlds 7 2-14 .143 Shields 8 11-40 .275

"Every player, shooter or post player, goes through good games and bad games," said Donovan. "She just has struggled for a couple of games, but I'm totally confident she'll come out of that."

"My shots will fall," said Gearlds. "I'm not worried about that. I feel like I'm learning, just trying to get better every day, taking game lessons and getting better from those. I feel like as I get more and more comfortable - hopefully sooner than later - jumpshots will fall. That's something I've been doing all my life. It's something I'm not really stressed about."

When Gearlds gets going, Donovan believes that will open things up for all the Storm's reserves as other teams are forced to pay attention to the sharpshooting rookie. The Silver Stars provide an example of that possibility. Second-year guard Shanna Crossley, like Gearlds a former Miss Basketball for the state of Indiana who specializes in shooting, has paired with newcomer Erin Buescher to form a potent inside-outside duo off the bench.

While she needs more production from her reserve group, Donovan is confident it will come and sees her rotation coming together.

"I think we're starting to see where our minutes are coming from," said Donovan. "Katie's going to continue to get those minutes as we get confident in her. T will continue to stay Sue at the point as needed, and then Wendy. Ashley's the one I'd like to find a few more minutes for. If she continues to improve her offense, which she did these last three days - she started to prove herself a little bit - that will get her minutes."