Storm-Shock Preview

By KATE HEDLIN
Posted Jun 14 2012 3:24PM

The Seattle Storm are off to the worst start in franchise history and have yet to pick up a victory during a difficult road stretch.

A matchup with the winless Tulsa Shock on Friday night could help them return home on a positive note.

Seattle has had a tough schedule, with seven of its first nine games coming on the road. The Storm conclude a season-high five-game trip Friday.

After a two-point defeat to Los Angeles in the first game of the stretch June 3, Seattle (1-7) hasn't come any closer to its first win away from home, with the other three losses coming by at least 13 points. It fell 74-58 to Chicago on Wednesday.

Tina Thompson scored 13 points and Ann Wauters added 12 for Seattle, which trailed by four at the end of the third quarter before the Sky pulled away with a 16-3 run.

The Storm have averaged 61.3 points and shot 36.6 percent during their four-game losing streak, their longest since 2005.

"There's no panic right now," coach Brian Agler said. "We are making progress and we just have to keep heading in the right direction."

Sue Bird had a season-high 10 assists in Chicago, but her shooting woes continued as she scored eight points on 3-of-9 shooting while missing all three attempts from 3-point range.

Bird, who scored 14.7 points per game last season, has averaged 6.0 while shooting 6 of 31 (19.4 percent) over the last three games.

Bird's best game of the season came in a 76-58 win over Tulsa on June 1, scoring 27 points while shooting 9 of 15 and hitting five 3-pointers to lead Seattle to its seventh straight victory in the series.

The Shock (0-8) have dropped 14 in a row dating to last season. While six of the losses this year have been by fewer than 10 points, they suffered an ugly 93-73 defeat to unbeaten Minnesota on Saturday.

Jennifer Lacy scored all 15 of her points in the first half while Temeka Johnson added 14 for Tulsa, which trailed by two at halftime before being outscored 49-31 over the final two quarters.

"We've got to stick together," Lacy told the Shock's official website. "We've got to help each other - play for each other. We have to want to beat the team more than anything. We have to cut down the errors that we make at the end of the game and learn how to close out games."

Tulsa is off to its worst start since opening a franchise-worst 0-13 in 2002 when the team was based in Detroit.

Bird, Smith lead Storm in 86-73 win over Shock

Posted Jun 15 2012 11:01PM

TULSA, Okla. (AP) Sue Bird scored 21 points and Katie Smith added 17 as the Seattle Storm beat the winless Tulsa Shock 86-73 Friday night to snap a four-game losing streak.

Tina Thompson had 16 points on 5-for-6 shooting for Seattle (2-7), which has beaten Tulsa for both its wins this season. It also marked the Storm's eighth consecutive victory against the Shock dating back to the 2010 season.

Bird connected on her first nine shots from the field before missing her first attempt with 52.2 seconds left in the third quarter. Her accuracy set the tone for Seattle as the Storm shot 55 percent from the field.

``Tulsa is an aggressive team and you have to counter that by spacing the floor and we did that tonight,'' said Seattle head coach Brian Agler. ``Sue took it upon herself to get us going on offense and we had a good balance of scoring.''

Bird also became the first player to hit her first nine shots since San Antonio's Danielle Robinson against the Shock last Sept. 11.

``Sue Bird showed tonight why she's the best point guard in the world,'' said Tulsa head coach Gary Kloppenburg. ``She's been struggling lately but she got healthy against us.''

Jennifer Lacy scored 16 points to lead Tulsa (0-9).

Seattle opened the second quarter with a 9-0 run, including two 3-pointers from Thompson, to take a 30-18 advantage with 7:52 left in the period.

``We had a lapse in the second quarter where they did everything they wanted to do and it really put us in a hole,'' Kloppenburg said. ``They have world-class players and we're a young team that is still growing.''

Tulsa got no closer than two points the remainder of the half, with Smith banking in a 3 at the halftime buzzer to give the Storm a 53-43 edge. Smith's desperation shot was part of Seattle's first-half long-distance barrage as the Storm connected on 8 of 12 from beyond the arc.

Seattle outrebounded Tulsa 17-6 in the first half on its way to a decisive 36-23 advantage on the boards.

• Storm: --
• Shock: --

• Storm: Wauters
• Shock: --

• Lead Changes: 0
• Times Tied: 0

• Arena: BOK Center, Tulsa, OK
• Officials: #21 Byron Jarrett, #43 Brenda Pantoja, #38 Lamont Simpson
• Attendance: 5100
• Duration: 1:56