Sky owner Michael Alter and team president/CEO Margaret Stender were both singing the praises of the new home for Chicago's WNBA team, Allstate Arena in Rosemont, which played its first four seasons at the UIC Pavilion.
    "Everything about this place has been great," Alter said. "We lost some ticket holders from Hyde Park, but playing here gives us a bigger fan base."
    "We're very happy here," Stender said.
    As expected, there was a smallish crowd Thursday, a week night with most area schools just winding down.
    The Sky, which started the season 0-4 set a franchise home attendance record of 6.477 for its home opener Saturday against the Indiana Fever. On Thursday, the Sky hosted the unbeaten Seattle Storm (3-0), a squad with as many stars as you'd see on a clear night at Adler Planetarium.
    Seattle's loaded starting five includes Lauren Jackson, from Australia, arguably the best female basketball player in the world and former UConn stars and USA Olympians Sue Bird, and Swin Cash and another former UConn star and Russian Olympian Svetlana Abrosimova.
    Another familiar face on hand was Seattle assistant coach Nancy Darsch, who once coached Ohio State.
    In the series between the teams, Seattle came in up 6-2, but the Sky won both games between the teams  in 2009.