Now that the Shock is out of playoff contention, guard Riquna Williams' attitude is "misery loves company."
"We're really just playing for pride at this point, and the only thing we can do is keep fighting and try to keep other people from realizing their dreams," she said.
Williams scored 22 points and had six assists Sunday as the Shock shared their pain with a 93-88 victory over the New York Liberty, whose fading postseason aspirations could scant afford the hit.
Tulsa (10-20) will try to deal more disappointment Friday when the Los Angeles Sparks (21-10) visit the BOK Center. Tipoff is 7 p.m.
The Sparks have clinched a playoff berth but trail first-place Minnesota in the Western Conference by 2 1/2 games. Another loss would all but end their hopes of overtaking the Lynx to gain a homecourt playoff edge.
"We could hurt them, and that's our approach for these last few games," Shock coach Gary Kloppenburg said.
Kloppenburg wants the Shock building toward next season, and he's using the idea of the spoiler's role to keep his players engaged.
"They're young and they're gonna play hard all of the time, but you try to find extra ways of keeping them motivated this time of year," he said.
Tulsa has given the Sparks fits in three of the four previous meetings. The Shock won 96-89 at the BOK Center five weeks ago when the Sparks' all-star center, Candace Parker, sat out with an injured wrist, and took the Sparks to overtime twice in Los Angeles.
But the Shock must play this time without 6-foot-8 Liz Cambage, who left for Australia on Wednesday to rehab her high left ankle sprain when team officials realized she probably wasn't going to play again this season.
Cambage had a career-high 28 points in the Aug. 2 win and posted eight points, 14 rebounds and six blocked shots in a double-overtime loss Aug. 25 in Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, the Shock is hopeful rookie point guard Angel Goodrich will be back in gear. She hasn't played since complaining of headaches and coughing up blood before last Friday's loss to San Antonio.
Goodrich's absence forced Williams into the starting lineup with partial point guard duties. The Shock's third-leading scorer said she's more comfortable as a shooting guard coming off the bench.
She drove the lane and dished to Courtney Paris for the key basket in Sunday's win and her six assists were a career high. But Williams isn't ready to give up her other job.
"I don't think I'll ever get completely comfortable playing (point guard)," she said. "That's just not my position. I've been a scorer all my life."
WNBA
Sparks at Shock
BOK Center
7 p.m. Friday
Radio: Chrome fm93.5
Los Angeles (21-10)
|
|
Ht. |
Pt. |
Rb. |
| F |
Beard |
6-1 |
6.4 |
2.2 |
| F |
Ogwumike |
6-2 |
14.3 |
7.6 |
| C |
Parker |
6-4 |
18.1 |
8.8 |
| G |
Harding |
5-8 |
11.1 |
5.1* |
| G |
Toliver |
5-7 |
14.3 |
3.4* |
Tulsa (10-20)
|
|
Ht. |
Pt. |
Rb. |
| F |
Jacksn-Jones |
6-3 |
4.6 |
3.9 |
| F |
Johnson |
6-3 |
15.2 |
9.1 |
| G |
Diggins |
5-9 |
8.2 |
3.9* |
| G |
Wiggins |
5-11 |
10.2 |
2.9 |
| G |
Williams |
5-7 |
14.2 |
1.8 |
*assists per game
Notes: Tulsa's Glory Johnson and Riquna Williams are first and third, respectively, in the league among second-year scorers. L.A.'s Nneka Ogwumike is second. ... Johnson is fourth in rebounding. ... Skylar Diggins matched a career high with four steals in Sunday's win over New York and tops all rookies with 35.
Mike Brown 918-581-8390
mike.brown@tulsaworld.com
Original Print Headline: Shock playing to upset teams
Pro W Basketball (WNBA)
9 p.m. Saturday
Basketball Australia manager Tamara Sheppard was in town to meet with Shock officials Thursday and discuss the responsibilities of Australian national players in international competition the next three years.
