Seattle zaps the Shock, takes down league leader 74-69

Seattle overcame a losing streak and came back from an eight-point halftime deficit beat Tulsa 74-69 Tuesday night. The Storm (3-7) had lost its last three games by a combined nine points, with one of the losses coming against Tulsa on Sunday. The win snapped a five-game losing streak.

With 8:09 in the third quarter, Brianna Kiesel drilled a three to give Tulsa a 45-36 lead and Seattle buckled down and closed the gap. Sue Bird drove to the basket and found Crystal Langhorne at the top of the key for the jumper to cut the lead to seven. The Storm then hit the break and Jenna O’Hea found Langhorne under the basket for the layup. Seattle kept the offense rolling and a fall away jumper from Bird gave the Storm a 46-45 lead. The Storm went on a 12-0 run to take a 48-45 lead.

Bird scored a team-high 17 points on 7-for-13 from the field.

After Tulsa tied the game at 48, the rookies gave Seattle a boost and two straight buckets from Ramu Tokashiki and an alley-oop layup from Jewell Loyd put it back up by six.

With 3:33 left in the fourth and Seattle up by one, Bird caught the ball off the curl and hit the jumper in the lane to put the Storm up 66-63. After an answer from Tulsa, Loyd dribbled into the lane, got bumped and hit the fade away jumper.

With 1:05 left and Seattle up by two, Tokashiki hit a jumper to put the Storm up 71-67. Two possessions later, Tulsa had a chance to cut into the Seattle lead again but a block from Tokashiki, one of her four on the game, sealed the game.

Seattle had five players in double figures, including Langhorne who finished with 15. Sue Bird puts up a season-high 17 points. Loyd scored 13 points, Tokashiki finished with 12 plus four blocks and Jenna O’Hea contributed 10.

With only nine players on the active roster, Tulsa had to jump out to a quick lead and it did as it rode Riquna Williams’ nine points early in the first quarter to a 12-0 lead. She scored 12 points in the first. Shock leading scorer and point guard Skylar Diggins is suffering from a knee injury and did not travel with the team.

Williams finished with a game hight 23 points.

Notes

• Seattle held Tulsa to 35.4 percent from the field while shooting 46.8% themselves
• Seattle had five players score in double figures, a season-high
• The Storm shot 46.8 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from the 3 point line
• Seattle’s bench contributed 28 points compared to Tulsa’s 11 bench points
• Ramu Tokashiki set a career-high 4 blocked shots to accompany her 12 points and 3 rebounds
• Riquna Williams scored her season-high 23 points shooting 6-for-15 from the field

Quotes

Storm head coach Jenny Boucek

(On improvements the team has made)
“We are gaining experience, we had three games in a row that were basically one-possession games. We lost all of them, but each one saw progress and I thought we just continued to make progress tonight. Finishing games is one of the hardest things for teams to get, it is hard for young teams but it is also hard for teams that are new to one another, and we have both of those things on this team. So, learning how to finish games is something we are learning collectively how to do.

(On the second half comeback)
“These last four games we’ve just been in it all the way to the last possession. How we get there has been a little bit different but we have not known in the fourth quarter how to function as a unit. Where as these other teams we are playing have a lot more experience together at functioning at crunch time and that has shown. They were missing a great player tonight, which I am sure hurt them in crunch time because she is always in in crunch time. But they battled hard and I give them a lot of credit but I am also proud of our team and the progress that they are continuing to make.”

Storm guard Sue Bird

(On breaking through with a win)
“It is something we have talked about. We didn’t want to get too bogged down with talk because it can make you think too much as opposed to just playing. It really was a matter of having to do it and we did it. Now we can build on that.”

(On performance of Ramu Tokashiki)
“I think Taku takes a lot of people by surprise both offensively and defensively. She’s obviously a big time leaper. More than anything, she is a quick jumper. I think her athleticism, her ability to keep people in front, and the fact that she can get up and shoot it, block some shots, change shots. I think it’s really going to be able to help us.”

(On gaining confidence)
“It’s good to experience it. I’m a big believer in the only way to gain confidence is by going out there and feeling it and doing it. Just because somebody tells you you’re good at something, that shouldn’t give you confidence. It should you gain by doing. Collectively as a team to go out there and close one out, hopefully we can build confidence with that.”

Storm guard Jewell Loyd

(On gaining confidence recently)
“We have great teammates here that keep telling you to shoot the ball and everything will come. For us, it’s important to play hard defense and let the offense comes as it goes. We played really good defense and its transitioned into offense.”

Shock head coach Fred Williams

(On adjustments made for today’s game)
I had to change the starting lineup. We didn’t have Skylar here tonight and still not Odyssey Sims, so we had to make adjustments, Riquna Williams started for us. It made our strategy a little different in the schemes of things, especially in the second half of the game.”

(On playing with nine active players)
“Players just have to step in. I thought tonight our players really fought hard and we were on the road in a close game, it could have went either way. I just felt that each of these players are pro players and they can come in and start and contribute.”

(On the second half)
“I thought Bird hit some real key shots in there. Loyd made some athletic plays down the stretch, but you know, Sue Bird hit some key shots for them. They hit the buzzer when the shot clocks were going down.”

Shock guard Riquna Williams

(On strategy going into the game without three players)
“We had to stay together. We are coming into this, the biggest thing for us is just staying together and sticking with the game plan.”

(On the second half)
“There was a momentum shift. They went on a run and we didn’t respond.”

Shock guard Brianna Kiesel

(On adjusting to playing in the WNBA)
“It is more just getting adjusted to the offense, our post players and our guards. You know, ball movement, looking for me in the corner, ball screens, getting to the basket and trying to create pull-up jump shots, things like that. Just trying to get into the flow of things, everyone has to get out there and bring their own individual attributes to help the team win.”

(On the game overall)
“We had some good plays down the line, we just missed a couple of shots. Seattle played well, they hit shots when they needed.”

By the Numbers

Points in the Paint: Shock 22, Storm 28
Second Chance Points: Shock 4, Storm 5
Fastbreak Points: Shock 8, Storm 8
Biggest Lead: Shock 12, Storm 6
Lead Changes: 1
Times Tied: 3