Shock-Silver Stars Preview

By MATT BEARDMORE
Posted Aug 12 2010 1:14PM

If the San Antonio Silver Stars are going to advance to the postseason for the fourth straight year, they'll have to play better at home. Avenging an AT&T Center loss to the WNBA-worst Tulsa Shock would be a good place to start.

San Antonio looks to snap a four-game home skid as it meets Tulsa for the final time this season Friday night.

The Silver Stars (11-18) are battling Minnesota and Los Angeles for the final Western Conference playoff spot, and San Antonio appears to have the advantage with four of its final five games at home.

The Silver Stars, though, have not won at the AT&T Center since July 18. They shot 4 of 22 from 3-point range and 8 of 15 from the foul line in a 73-66 home loss to the Lynx on Tuesday.

"We haven't been playing our best ball at home, but we should be taking advantage of that in front of our home fans," coach Sandy Brondello said. "But we'll learn from that and we're moving forward. We have a big game Friday against Tulsa.

"There are still five games to go in the season so every game counts and we'll treat every game like a playoff game. We know we had a tough loss against Tulsa last time they played here so we just have to refocus ..."

The Silver Stars took the first two meetings of the season with the Shock (5-24), but lost 75-70 at home July 16 as Tulsa avoided a franchise record-tying 13th consecutive loss.

The Shock have dropped six in a row on the road since that victory, falling 111-65 at Seattle on Saturday in the most lopsided defeat in WNBA history.

Coach Nolan Richardson's team has lost nine of 10 and 21 of 23.

"There's not much you can say when you get beat by (nearly) 50,'' Shock forward Nicole Ohlde said. "... We just got ourselves in a hole and it just kept getting worse and worse.''

Guard Ivory Latta, leading the Shock with 12.0 points and 4.1 assists since re-signing with the club last month, has averaged 17.0 points and shot 8 for 10 from 3-point range in two games versus the Silver Stars this season. Latta made a season-high five 3s and scored 15 points at San Antonio last month.

Becky Hammon, who had a team-high 22 points in a 101-85 victory at Tulsa on July 30, is averaging 17.3 points and 4.3 assists against the Shock in 2010.

Silver Stars topple Shock 94-74

Posted Aug 13 2010 11:18PM

SAN ANTONIO (AP) Becky Hammon led a third-quarter surge that helped the San Antonio Silver Stars draw closer to a playoff berth by downing the Tulsa Shock 94-74 on Friday night.

The Silver Stars (12-18) ended a four-game home losing streak and moved a game ahead of Los Angeles and Minnesota for third place in the Western Conference with four to play.

Leading 47-46 at halftime, the Silver Stars briefly trailed in the third period before ending the quarter on a 21-9 run. Hammon scored nine points during that spurt and 11 in the quarter, finishing with 15.

``The biggest thing that jumps out to me is we had 26 assists,'' said Hammon, who contributed eight to that total. ``That's really moving and sharing the ball, and as a result we shoot over 50 percent (52.1) from the floor.

``I'd been distributing the ball, and you still want to keep your openings and keep your mind open and just not get so narrow-minded into passing,'' Hammon said. ``I just looked for moments and took 'em when they were there. My teammates did a great job of screening for me, so it sort of shook me free a little bit.''

Improved defense as the game wore on sparked San Antonio's transition offense. Tulsa shot 36.7 percent from the field in the second half after hitting 61.3 percent before halftime.

``It starts with defense,'' said backup guard Edwige Lawson-Wade, who with 13 points was one of six Silver Stars to score in double-figures. ``We defended really well, we got some rebounds and we played really fast. We had a lot of fast breaks. The game is at a faster pace, and that's how we want to play.''

Chamique Holdsclaw led all scorers with 18 points, including seven in the third quarter.

Scholanda Robinson scored 14 points for Tulsa (5-25), which has lost three in a row and 10 of its past 11.

``We didn't rebound well. That was the story of the game,'' Robinson said. ``I think they had 20 offensive rebounds, and we had 25 (total) for the game. You can't win like that.''

San Antonio ended the first period on an 11-0 run, but Tulsa countered by scoring the last eight points of the half. The Shock took a 55-54 lead with 6:46 left in the third quarter before the Silver Stars took control.

Lawson-Wade scored five points in a 9-0 run early in the fourth period that gave San Antonio its first 20-point lead.

The Silver Stars, now 6-8 at home after their first victory at the AT&T Center since July 18, visit Minnesota on Sunday before concluding the regular season with home games against Washington, Indiana and Phoenix.

They have the head-to-head tiebreaker edge over Los Angeles, but are 2-2 against Minnesota.

``We want to make the playoffs, but we still know it's a long way to go,'' Silver Stars coach Sandy Brondello said. ``It's about taking care of home court; we don't necessarily play great on this home court.

``We should beat Tulsa; I think we're a better team. We're going to Minnesota, we know it's 2-2, it's an opportunity to take this tie-break, which is important. We know that they're going to be hungry ... we just have to go in there hungrier.''

• Shock: --
• Silver Stars: --

• Shock: Holt
• Silver Stars: --

• Lead Changes: 6
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX
• Officials: #7 Clarke Stevens, #44 Felicia Grinter, #45 Tom Mauer
• Attendance: 10244
• Duration: 1:51