Storm rallies to hand Shock 83-72 loss
In what seemed to be the game that the Tulsa Shock would finally snap their losing streak, the Seattle Storm roared back in the final quarter to snatch an 83-72 win on Sunday afternoon at the BOK Center. Lauren Jackson scored 24 points while Svetlana Abrosimova added a season-high 21 points, including 19 in the second half as 4,865 fans saw the Shock lose their eighth-straight. Tanisha Wright was solid as well, scoring a double-double by way of 10 assists and 10 points.
Scholanda Robinson led three double-digit scorers for the Shock with 16 points. Tiffany Jackson and Alexis Hornbuckle added 11 and 10 points respectively for Tulsa in a game that went their way well into the second half. The Shock ended the game with a field goal percentage of 43.5 percent while Seattle was 44.6 from the field, sinking 25 of 56 attempts. In comparison, the Storm made 24 free-throws, one less than their total field goals scored.
The Shock jumped out to an early lead, outscoring the Storm 6-0 in the first two minutes of play. Seattle's first points came just over two minutes into the game when Jackson dropped in a layup. The two squads would trade the lead eight times, before Tulsa took a 19-18 lead into the break.
Robinson took charge midway through the period, accounting for six-straight points for Tulsa. She ended the quarter with 10 points to lead all scorers as Tulsa outscored Seattle 12-4 in the paint. Seattle standout Sue Bird logged just under two minutes of playing time before leaving the game due to lower back pain.
Seattle pulled ahead to a four point lead midway through the second before Tulsa battled back and took the lead on a three-pointer by Jackson with three minutes remaining. From there the Shock used a 14-4 run to close the half with a 40-30 lead.
The Shock maintained a double-digit lead through most of the third quarter, as Robinson added six points. Abrosimova added ten third-quarter points to help pull the Storm within five points. Tulsa retained a 62-57 lead heading into the final quarter where things got interesting.
Jackson hit a jump shot 14-seconds into the final frame to expand Tulsa's lead to seven points. The Shock missed seven of their next eight field goal attempts as the Storm went on a 25-2 run to change the momentum into Seattle's favor. Tulsa committed six turnovers in the fourth quarter as Seattle took charge and cruised to the victory.
Jana Vesela pulled in a steal and broke away to tie the game at 66-66 with 5:32 left. A layup by Wright 33-seconds later gave the Storm their first lead of the quarter. Seattle went on to drain four treys in the closing four minutes to put them on top by 11-points when the final horn sounded.
The win improved Seattle's record to 13-2 on the season, while Tulsa drops to 3-11. The Storm now holds a six-game lead over the San Antonio Silver Stars in the Western Conference standings. Tulsa is in last place in the Western Conference while holding the current longest-active losing streak in the WNBA.
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Photos by: Kevin Pyle
The Shock will tip-off with the Connecticut Sun at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the BOK Center. The Sun currently own a record of 9-5 and sit in second place in the Eastern Conference behind the Atlanta Dream (11-4). Tickets for all future Shock home games are available at the BOK Center box office, online or by calling 599-WNBA.
1
2
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F
Seattle
18
12
27
26
83
Tulsa
19
21
22
10
72
Attendance: 4,865. Officials: Tom Mauer, Daryl Humphrey, Felicia Grinter. Time of game: 2:10.
Seattle - Jackson 24, Abrosimova 21, Cash 11, Wright 10, Little 9, Vesela 4, Willingham 2, Robinson 2.
Tulsa - Robinson 16, Jackson 11, Hornbuckle 10, Brown 7, Braxton 7, Black 6, Jones 6, Holt 4, J. Lacy 3, N. Lacy 2.