The Tulsa Shock recorded their first win in a span of a month, taking down powerhouse New York Liberty on Saturday, 81-76.
The Shock got off to a hot start and led for most of the way as the Liberty's showing in the first three quarters was very uncharacteristic of what they have been displaying all-season long.
Tulsa's win was a combination of being aggressive on offense and the Liberty not playing fluid basketball on the other end. Odyssey Sims was all over the place and finished with a career-high 27 points, shooting 15-for-16 from the free throw line. She added 7 assists while Riquna Williams contributed 15 points.
Tanisha Wright picked up two personal fouls early in the first half, and that costed a lot for New York. She is the team's leader in assists with 3.3 a game, and her fine playmaking was badly missed in the first two quarters.
Another thing I saw was that New York did not set a lot of ball screens on top of the key on offense, which they have been doing in the entire year.
Their bigs did not dive to the basket either, and the offense stagnated early as they were buried by double-digits. No one was attacking. Tina Charles settled for jumpers but was not receiving any touches in a back-to-basket position. Carolyn Swords failed to make impact as well. By the end of the first half, New York only had 10 points in the paint.
In simple terms, New York did not play like New York in the first three quarters.
Charles did finish with 13 points and 8 rebounds, but was a minus-16. It was only until the second quarter where I really saw her finish inside the paint off a pick and roll play.
Ros Gold-Onwude was doing the in-game commentary and she also noticed this absence, saying Charles was not getting lay-ups and was kept away from scoring around the rim.
Brittany Boyd then fueled the late surge in the fourth period, bringing the Liberty to within single-digits. She was relentless; her aggressiveness was unparalleled. She went coast to coast at one point to draw the foul. She always drove off the screen at the right side of the court to get to the free throw line.
It reminded me of how she stepped up when Prince was still busy at the start of the season. Boyd's phenomenal showing in the fourth is basically what New York should have worked on in the first three periods.
She notched a career-high 22 points. Candice Wiggins also provided support in the fourth, particularly in stopping the straight line drives of Sims and Williams as she stepped up with her on-ball defense.
But Epiphanny Prince, who was en fuego in her recent games, struggled with only 9 points on 2-for-11 shooting and was a minus-14.
The Liberty also got out-rebounded, 35-24. It was a case of too little, too late for the Eastern Conference's top squad.
The Shock did damage from inside and out, beating the Liberty in what they are supposed to do well.
The Shock got off to a hot start and led for most of the way as the Liberty's showing in the first three quarters was very uncharacteristic of what they have been displaying all-season long.
SHOCK WIN 81-76 and break a 10 game losing streak!!! pic.twitter.com/T5zSvkfzgn
— Tulsa Shock, WNBA (@TulsaShock) August 16, 2015
Tulsa's win was a combination of being aggressive on offense and the Liberty not playing fluid basketball on the other end. Odyssey Sims was all over the place and finished with a career-high 27 points, shooting 15-for-16 from the free throw line. She added 7 assists while Riquna Williams contributed 15 points.
Tanisha Wright picked up two personal fouls early in the first half, and that costed a lot for New York. She is the team's leader in assists with 3.3 a game, and her fine playmaking was badly missed in the first two quarters.
Another thing I saw was that New York did not set a lot of ball screens on top of the key on offense, which they have been doing in the entire year.
Their bigs did not dive to the basket either, and the offense stagnated early as they were buried by double-digits. No one was attacking. Tina Charles settled for jumpers but was not receiving any touches in a back-to-basket position. Carolyn Swords failed to make impact as well. By the end of the first half, New York only had 10 points in the paint.
In simple terms, New York did not play like New York in the first three quarters.
Charles did finish with 13 points and 8 rebounds, but was a minus-16. It was only until the second quarter where I really saw her finish inside the paint off a pick and roll play.
Ros Gold-Onwude was doing the in-game commentary and she also noticed this absence, saying Charles was not getting lay-ups and was kept away from scoring around the rim.
Brittany Boyd then fueled the late surge in the fourth period, bringing the Liberty to within single-digits. She was relentless; her aggressiveness was unparalleled. She went coast to coast at one point to draw the foul. She always drove off the screen at the right side of the court to get to the free throw line.
It reminded me of how she stepped up when Prince was still busy at the start of the season. Boyd's phenomenal showing in the fourth is basically what New York should have worked on in the first three periods.
She notched a career-high 22 points. Candice Wiggins also provided support in the fourth, particularly in stopping the straight line drives of Sims and Williams as she stepped up with her on-ball defense.
But Epiphanny Prince, who was en fuego in her recent games, struggled with only 9 points on 2-for-11 shooting and was a minus-14.
The Liberty also got out-rebounded, 35-24. It was a case of too little, too late for the Eastern Conference's top squad.
The Shock did damage from inside and out, beating the Liberty in what they are supposed to do well.
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