Silver Stars-Shock Preview

By MATT BEARDMORE
Posted Aug 16 2012 4:14PM

The San Antonio Silver Stars don't want to peak too early, but they're definitely not complaining about their recent results.

Facing the league-worst Tulsa Shock could help the Silver Stars continue the longest winning streak in franchise history.

Back from the WNBA's Olympic break, San Antonio goes for a 10th straight victory and eighth in a row in this series Friday night in Tulsa.

Before San Antonio (13-5) opened the season with an 88-79 victory at Tulsa on May 19, point guard Becky Hammon said that the team was "going to take our learning lumps" and that it "should be playing really solid basketball at the end of the year." The six-time All-Star was on target with her first comment as the Silver Stars dropped four of five following the victory over the Shock, but they've since gone 11-1.

"I don't know if we necessarily want to be playing our best basketball (now) - we want to be a team that keeps improving," said Hammon, who returned this week from London after averaging 12.1 points and 4.0 assists for a Russian team that lost to Australia in the bronze-medal game.

"We want to get good position for the playoffs - get that first or second seed. That's huge."

A big reason the Silver Stars have climbed to second in the Western Conference is their reserves are averaging 32.1 points during the team-record nine-game winning streak, led by Jia Perkins' 13.2 per game.

Perkins scored 21 of the team's 44 bench points in a 91-70 win over Atlanta on July 13 in the Silver Stars' last game.

"I feel like they have the best bench in the WNBA right now and a great point guard (Hammon)," Dream guard Armintie Price said.

While San Antonio is well on its way to a sixth straight playoff appearance, the Shock (3-15) are trying to avoid posting the league's worst record for the third straight season.

Tulsa president Steve Swetoha has a more positive outlook for the second half.

"We want to get to the playoffs (for the first time since 2009), continue to compete and improve on both ends of the floor," he told the team's official website.

The Shock, though, must try to improve without center Elizabeth Cambage, who isn't expected to make her season debut until later this month. The 2011 All-Star averaged 13.6 points and 5.6 rebounds for Australia in London, and made headlines Aug. 3 against Russia by becoming possibly the first woman in Olympic history to dunk.

Until Cambage returns, rookie forward Glory Johnson will key the Shock's inside game. The fourth overall pick is averaging 12.4 points and a team-best 5.9 rebounds. Johnson had 30 points and 14 boards - highs for any Shock player this season - in the team's last game, an 89-74 loss at Minnesota on July 12.

The Shock are 0-5 at home against the Silver Stars since relocating from Detroit for the 2010 season.

Silver Stars beat Shock for 10th straight win

Posted Aug 17 2012 11:12PM

TULSA, Okla. (AP) Sophia Young scored 20 points and the San Antonio Silver Stars beat the Tulsa Shock 89-79 Friday night for their 10th straight win.

Jia Perkins had 17 points and Becky Hammon and Danielle Robinson each added 15 to help San Antonio (14-5) recover after giving up a 14-point lead in the first half.

``Jia was phenomenal,'' Silver Stars coach Dan Hughes said. ``We were able to rest a lot of our starters and were strong in the fourth quarter. That was the difference.''

Riquna Williams scored 17 points to lead the league-worst Shock (3-16). Roneeka Hodges added 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the field and Glory Johnson had 15.

San Antonio raced out to a 29-15 lead at the end of the first quarter. Tulsa turned up the pressure on defense and had a 15-6 run to pull to 35-30 with 6:51 to play in the second quarter. The Shock, who scored 31 points in the period, ended the quarter on a 16-11 run to tie the score at 46 at halftime.

Tulsa then led 63-62 heading to the fourth.

``They are a good backcourt,'' Tulsa coach Gary Kloppenburg said of the Silver Stars. ``You've got Hammon who can shoot from anywhere and Robinson who can make the mid-range shot. And with Perkins off the bench, they are probably the best backcourt in the league.

``But we were able to get our running game going and we got some easy baskets. We struggled against their zone. I'm proud of our team. San Antonio is a veteran team and we're still a young, growing team.''

Hughes said he didn't want to get into a foot race with the Shock.

``Tulsa plays so well off the bounce,'' Hughes said. ``It was hard for us to keep the ball in front of us. They are good basketball team. They will beat people. Until the fourth quarter, we had a tough time. Defensively, (Tulsa) forces you to play faster than you want to. They are really aggressive on defense which is why they lead the league in forced turnovers.''

Even after his team took a 14-point first half lead, Hughes warned the Silver Stars of Tulsa's ability to rally.

``I told our team this would be a game of streaks,'' he said. ``I told them we would make a run and they would make a run. We just had to be ready and we had to make the last one.''

They did, closing out the final period with a 27-16 decisive spurt.

``We don't get rattled too much,'' said Robinson, who led Oklahoma to two Final Four appearances. ``As a point guard, you have to keep the team under control. You can't afford to get rattled. We've been down games before this year, so when we got down tonight, we knew we had the chemistry to come back.''

• Silver Stars: --
• Shock: --

• Silver Stars: --
• Shock: --

• Lead Changes: 12
• Times Tied: 5

• Arena: BOK Center, Tulsa, OK
• Officials: #21 Byron Jarrett, #43 Brenda Pantoja, #46 Tim Greene
• Attendance: 6270
• Duration: 1:57