SAN ANTONIO, TX—They’ve learned how to get the job done.
The Tulsa Shock (3-1) defeated the San Antonio Stars 73-62 in the AT&T Center on Sunday evening to extend their current win streak to three and extend the Tulsa team’s first winning record since the 2010 relocation front Detroit.
After a 30-minute delay in the start of the game due to leaks in the roof of the AT&T Center, the Shock took control of the game and never looked back.
Skylar Diggins celebrates victory – photo credit: Shane Bevel of NBA/Getty
Shock guard Skylar Diggins led all scorers with 21 points shooting 40% from the field. Courtney Paris recorded a double-double with 10 points and 19 rebounds while the team recorded 57 boards compared to 26 by the Stars on Sunday. Paris’ 19 rebounds is also a new regular-season high in the all-time series, the previous being 14 set last season by Paris also.
Jordan Hooper scored 11-points off the bench shooting a remarkable 80% from the field and 75% from three point range.
For San Antonio Kayla McBride led the Stars with 17 points all scored in the first half, and it was her second game in double figures. Danielle Robinson put in 10-points and added seven assists, and Jayne Appel recorded 7 blocks.
“I thought we played well balanced basketball today.” Shock head coach Fred Williams commented after the game. “We passed the ball well, rebounded well. I felt like we got a little off balanced with the fouls as far as our starters. Overall I thought we shot pretty well.”
Skylar Diggins was also pleased with her teams’ performance.
Tulsa Today Sports Editor Rich Lohman talks with Skylar Diggins. Photo: Shock
“I was proud of our team the way we handled diversity.” Diggins said, “Coming in on their opening night they had a great crowd who is always loud and cheers for them. We had diversity we had to go through. You have to credit the way that they moved the ball in the first half. They came back 17 points in the first half, so I thought we really locked down.
“We just started attacking. We were a little frustrated when we thought we were attacking the basket hard when in the second half we just went to go finish instead of looking for any contact. We just went to go finish. Courtney (Paris) with 19 rebounds, 10 offensive rebounds. That helped us out a lot just the way that our bigs battled at the board.”
It was the team’s first game without Odyssey Sims, who sustained a knee injury at the end of the first halfin the Shock’s blowout win over Seattle last Tuesday night. It is unclear how long Sims will be out but sources on the team have indicated her recovery should be relatively short as the severity of the injury is not as bad as initially feared.
The Shock will be back in action tomorrow morning at 11:30am when they take on San Antonio again, this time at home in the BOK Center.