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TULSA, OK– Coming off a, 89-72 loss to the WNBA defending champion Seattle Storm last Saturday night the Tulsa Shock took the floor against the Indiana Fever on Friday night to once again try and snap the 12-game losing streak they’ve been on since their only win back on June 18th against the Washington Mystics.
The Shock had three players in double figures against the Storm and had cut the lead to within seven points before Seattle turned it on and went on a 10-point run in the final quarter to seal the game for the defending champions. Liz Cambage had 11-points, Ivory Latta had 12 and Tiffany Jackson led Tulsa with 16 points.
The Indiana Fever and the Shock last met in the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on June 14th with the Fever getting the win 82-74. The two teams split the 2010 series with each team posting a victory on it’s home floor. Shock forward Tiffany Jackson entered the game just 9 points shy of her 1,000th career point.
The Fever led by 10 22-12 at the end of the first, shooting 62% from the floor and 60% from 3-point range compared to the Shock’s 22% and 16%. The Fever at one point held a 10-2 lead over Tulsa, and Indiana gave up the ball 4 times for 5 points. Katie Douglas of Indiana had 8 points in the quarter while Andrea Riley and Karima Christmas both had three points for the Shock.
At the half Indiana had a 42-29 lead over the Shock and in the 2nd quarter shot 54% from the field. Tamika Catchings of the Fever took over the scoring lead in the game with 9 points and Amber Holt assumed the scoring lead for Tulsa at 5 points. Indiana had seven turnovers in the 2nd quarter resulting in 9 Tulsa points while the Shock turned it over as many times for eight points.
The Fever exploded out on a 30-2 run over the Shock out of the gate. Four Fever players were in double figuresin the quarter, while the Shock’s Ivory Latta lead Tulsa’s scorers with 7 points. The abysmal performance had head coach Teresa Edwards platooned her players in and out of the game trying to find the right combination to fend off the Fever’s onslaught.
The game would end with the Shock in the all-to familiar position of being 20-points behind the Fever at 85-65, their 13th straight loss. Indiana had four players in double figures and the Shock had only two with Tiffany Jackson scoring 12 points with 8 rebounds. Jackson’s point total was good enough to put her over the top of the 1,000 point mark for her career. Jennifer Lacy equaled her point total and also had 8 boards.
Coach Edwards comments about her team very were not very complimentary after the game. “We have put in a lot of work in practice and it’s really frustrating when it doesn’t show up in the game.” Edwards said, “I don’t know if it’s performance anxiety or the level of competition between practice and the games.”
“I can’t put my finger on it but this is probably one of the first times I was really disappointed since I’ve been at the helm.” Edwards stated, “I’m competitive and I expect more than what I’m getting right now.”
The Shock will now go on the road, facing the San Antonio Silver Stars tomorrow night, then on to Los Angeles for a contest with the Sparks in the Staples Center on August 9th. From there, it’s on to Seattle to take on the Storm on August 11th.
Finally, a visit to Minnesota on Sunday August 14th and the Lynx before returning home to face Los Angeles on the 21st.
Photo by Kevin Pyle.