Charles' double-double leads Sun past Shock 101-89

Tulsa Shock fans saw first-hand Tuesday night why Tina Charles was the number one pick in the WNBA draft this season. Charles tied a Connecticut Sun record, notching her 12th double-double of the season, scoring 16 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Sun past the Shock 101-89. Four other players scored in double-digits for the Sun as they ran the Shock's current winless streak to nine games.

Scholanda Robinson had another big night, leading four Shock double-digit scorers with 19 points. Keisha Brown and Jennifer Lacy followed with 12-points and four rebounds each. Brown also dished out seven assists while Tiffany Jackson added 10 points in front of 3,649 fans at the BOK Center.

Connecticut jumped out to a 4-0 first-quarter lead before a pair of baskets by Brown evened the score at the eight-minute mark. From there the two teams traded leads 10 times before Connecticut used a 6-2 run in the last minute to take a 26-23 lead into the break. Brown paced the Shock in the quarter with eight points while Tan White scored eight for the Sun.

The Sun opened the second on a 10-2 run to claim a 10-point lead four minutes into the quarter. Connecticut had the upper-hand on Tulsa throughout the period, outscoring them 14-10 in the paint while Sandrine Gruda led the way with eight points. Natasha Lacy kept the game within reach for the Shock, scoring seven points off the bench as the Sun took a 50-42 lead into the half.

Charles took charge for the Sun in the third scoring six points while Robinson dropped in an impressive 10-points for the Shock. A jump shot by Gruda pushed the Sun lead to 12-points with three minutes remaining while Kelsey Griffin extended the lead to 14 with 46-seconds left on a pair of free throws. Connecticut took advantage of their opportunities at the charity stripe, connecting on 11 of 14 free throw attempts to take a 78-66 lead into the fourth quarter.

Robinson continued the effort in the final quarter adding seven more points as the two teams traded baskets with Connecticut expanding their lead to 17-points on a pair of Renee Montgomery free throws with just over six minutes remaining. Tulsa would chip away to cut the deficit to 13 on an Alexis Hornbuckle jumper with 4:48 left. However, Kara Lawson scored seven points to keep the Sun in charge the rest of the way. Robinson sank a pair of free throws with six seconds left and time ran out with Connecticut claiming the 12-point win.

Each team finished the night with a field goal percentage of 50 percent, while Connecticut clearly used the free throw line to claim the win. The Sun connected on 20 of 24 attempts from the charity stripe while the Shock converted on just 14 of 23 chances. The loss dropped Tulsa's record to 3-12 while Connecticut improved to 10-5.

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Photos by: Kevin Pyle

Next up for the Shock will be a 7 p.m. tip-off at the BOK Center on Saturday against the Washington Mystics. Washington (10-5) is currently in a second place tie with Connecticut in the Eastern Conference, sitting one game back of the Atlanta Dream (12-4). Tickets for all future Shock games are available at the BOK Center box office, online, or by calling 599-WNBA.

        1 

        2 

        3 

        4 

        F 

Connecticut 

        26 

        24 

        28 

        23 

        101 

Tulsa 

        23 

        19 

        24 

        23 

        89 

Attendance: 3,649. Officials: Clarke Stevens, Angelica Suffren, Kevin Sparrock. Time of game: 2:02.

Connecticut - Gruda 17, Lawson 17, Charles 16, Montgomery 16, White 16, Jones 6, Griffin 6, Gardin 4, Hightower 3.

Tulsa - Robinson 19, Brown 12, J. Lacy 12, Jackson 10, Braxton 9, Holt 7, N. Lacy 7, Black 6, Hornbuckle 5, Jones 2