TULSA, OK— It’s been a rare thing to talk about in their five-year history, but the Tulsa Shock are on a winning streak.
Not only are they on a winning streak but they history making winning streak.
Since 2009, when the franchise ceased being the Detroit Shock and became the Tulsa Shock, they have not managed to string together four wins in a row. On Sunday afternoon in front of 4,141 Shock faithful they did exactly that with an 85-79 win over Seattle.
Skylar Diggins celebrates victory – photo credit: Shane Bevel of NBA/Getty
Skylar Diggins had a career-best 26 points in the game while Glory Johnson and Courtney Paris nabbed 25 rebounds between them. Odyssey Sims had 15 points and had 6 assists on the game as well. Tulsa dominated the
It was a game that not only pushed a perennial cellar-dweller in the WNBA over a major post-move milestone, but it has put the “guaranteed win” status of team traveling to the BOK Center in question.
The win capped off what has arguably been the best week for the Shock since the move from Michigan that started on June 6 when the Shock notched a 94-78 win over Diana Taurasi and the Phoenix Mercury. Then the New York Liberty came to the BOK Center on June 10 and left on the light end of a 72-57 scoreboard when the horn sounded.
A tighter game was played last Friday night, when Diggins sunk a near buzzer-beater with just under two seconds left on the BOK big board to lift the Shock to a 69-67 win over the Los Angeles Sparks. Through this whole period, the Shock have managed to keep themselves grounded and have something else developing as they move forward: they are a team that has emerging stars but they are also unselfish.
Four wins in a row also solidified something that the Shock have been trying to establish since the move from Detroit: a strong home-court advantage. Something that hasn’t been lost on the mind of Shock head coach Fred Williams.
“It’s time to secure that home court advantage.” Williams said, “Every team tries to that in this league. If you can secure those close games at home, it puts you in a good seat for the end of the season.”
Skylar Diggins efforts over the past week also earned her the WNBA’s Western Conference player of the week honors on Monday, for games played June 9 through June 15.
Altogether, Diggins, the No. 3 overall selection in the 2013 WNBA Draft, began her week by registering 21 points, seven assists and three boards in Tulsa’s 72-57 home win over the New York Liberty. She then poured in a game-high 22 points to go along with four assists, two rebounds, and a pair of steals as the Shock toppled the visiting Los Angeles Sparks, 69-67. In that game, Diggins hit a basket with 42.4 seconds left to play and then drilled a game-winning jumper with 1.9 remaining on the clock. The former Notre Dame star closed out the week with a big effort in an 85-79 home win over the Seattle Storm in which she tallied a game-high and career-high 26 points. Five of those points came during Tulsa’s 9-0 run late in the game that put the Shock ahead, 83-77. On the season, Diggins ranks fourth in the WNBA in both scoring (19.2 ppg) and assists (5.7 apg).
From here the Shock will embark on another long road trip starting on Thursday night when the Shock hit the court in the Staples Center for the first time this season, and after a tilt with Phoenix on Friday night the Shock will swing east for games with the Chicago Sky and the Indiana Fever next week.
The next home game for Tulsa will be on Saturday, June 28th when the Sparks return to the BOK Center for a 7pm tip.