BY TODD DYBAS / SEATTLESPORTSONLINE.COM

This seemed ill-fated from the start.

Midway through the national anthem, KeyArena lost audio and the projected voice of the 11-year-old singing. A faint fire alarm could be heard in the background, appropriate for a night when much went wrong for the Storm in a 71-64 Game 3 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks in the Western Conference semifinals.

As with the public address system, what worked at one point did not work Tuesday night. The Storm's defense was intent on two things: Locking up the Los Angeles frontcourt, and not giving the Sparks transition opportunities. Neither happened Tuesday.

Candace Parker scored 20 points, just one short of her total in the first two games, many coming in transition. Parker scored with her left hand on three consecutive possessions to close the first quarter. The Sparks' 13 transition points tied the amount they had in Game 1, their other win in the series. Lisa Leslie added 15 for Los Angeles, her highest total.

A woeful third quarter, 10 points, stretched the Storm to an unrecoverable point despite a fourth-quarter awakening. Seattle cut the lead to three points, 65-62, with 1:52 remaining, but failed to convert numerous chances to get closer.

After a stop, Tanisha Wright stormed up the floor and charged into Marie Ferdinand-Harris, giving it back to the Sparks with 1:12 remaining. Sparks guard Shannon Bobbitt missed two free throws on the following possession, but after securing the rebound, the Storm could not get off a shot before the 24-second clock expired.

With 35 seconds left, Sue Bird fouled Bobbitt on purpose, so the Storm would have options to foul and freeze the clock from there on. But Bird committed a second foul immediately after, bumping Ferdinand-Harris about 96 feet from the Sparks' basket. That foul sent Ferdinand-Harris, an 89 percent free-throw shooter in the regular season, to the line for two. She made them both, pushing the lead back to five points with just 32 seconds remaining.

"I probably shouldn't have been that close to her, I probably shouldn't have even let the ref have the opportunity to call it," Bird said. "In my opinion, if there was 10 minutes on the clock, he wouldn't have called it. I was just trying to pressure her, I had no intention of fouling her."

But she did, and that was about it.

Bird, typically stone-faced or smiling, was left with glassy eyes and wonder following getting bounced by Los Angeles. The Storm went through a refreshing of the roster, then multiple injuries during the season as all the new players tried to adapt to one another.

"This team is just a very, very special team," Bird said. "We had a lot go on, we went through a lot. At the beginning of the year, nobody picked us to do anything. By the end of the year, nobody was picking us to do anything, I know we got knocked out in the first round, and I know that's a broken record for Seattle Storm fans. We never gave up and it sucks, but looking back I know I'm going to feel a sense of pride in this team."

Bird has been playing non-stop since April. She moved to shooting guard during the course of the season following Lauren Jackson's injury. Los Angeles was able to to rotate pint-sized Bobbitt and Temeka Johnson on Bird, then throw Ferdinand-Harris at the Storm point guard. Bird's point total decreased in each series game, going from 23 to 20, then 16 Tuesday.

"I thought (the Sparks' guards) defensive pressure finally took its toll on Sue Bird," Los Angeles coach Michael Cooper said. "She looked like she was a little fatigued and she wasn't as active as in the last game looking to score."

Tanisha Wrigth led the Storm with 20 points. Camille Little added 16.

Now, the Storm is left with many questions. After an offseason overhaul of the roster brought in veteran stars Yolanda Griffith, Swin Cash and Sheryl Swoopes, coach and Director of Player Personnel Brian Agler will face another offseason full of decisions.

"We felt like the dynamics of the roster had to change," Agler said about his view upon his hiring. "We made those changes. Whether it's a one-shot deal, I don't know.

"I wouldn't change anything that we've done."

Todd Dybas is the editor of Seattlesportsonline.com. Contact him at tdybas@seattlesportsonline.com