If you still want to attend tonight's WNBA Game 5 between the Lynx and L.A. Sparks at Williams Arena, hurry.
There is a small number of tickets available for the game, which is expected to be a complete sellout by the 7 p.m. tipoff. Limited-view seats are available at face value through the team's website, which also has a link to the team-sponsored Flash Seats resale marketplace.
That means the area will be at its full 14,625 fans in the Barn. And if you thought it was loud with 11,000 or so in Game 2, just wait. Those extra 3,000 fans, sitting close to that metal roof? Could be interesting.
Lindsay Whalen knows what it's like from her days at the University of Minnesota, when a few crowds that size filled the arena to watch a team that was headed to the Final Four. "Pretty loud,'' she said, smiling.
Indeed, Seimone Augustus has taken to Williams so much that, after shootaround today, she said a full Williams Arena might be a bigger home-court advantage than Target Center. "Target Center is fine,'' she said. "But this, the setup of it? The intimacy of it? We can hear the fans yelling. I love the vibe of the barn.''
Here are some more observations from this morning's shootaround:
--The Lynx have two post-shootaround traditions. First, after it ends, the players line up to take half-court shots, with the winner getting $100. Today's winner: Augustus. And yes, she takes that as a good omen. "What a way to cap off the season,'' she said.
The other tradition is for players to kick the ball into the stands, where the rookies have to chase them down and bring them back. The object is to kick it as high and far as possible.
Enter Whalen: She punted a basketball way up into the barn lofts at Williams today, and Cecilia Zandalasini had to go fetch it. It was, easily, the best kick of the year, everyone agreed.
"That was in honor of Janel McCarville,'' Whalen said of her former Gophers and Lynx teammate. "She used to kick the heck out of the ball.''
--With all the close games these two teams have played, and the endless discussion around them, is there anything left to say?
"Nope,'' Augustus said. "Just time to tip it up. Game on. This is what we've been waiting for.''
--Here's one final pre-game quote from Maya Moore: "It's so special to be able to have home court advantage, to be able to have a shot at achieving our goal in front of our fans. That's what we're fighting for. That's what we're working for and just expecting to create some really special memories for 40 minutes. That's what we're aiming for. Both teams have 40 minutes left. By the end of it we want to feel really proud about what we put out there.''
