Tulsa's Riquna Williams broke the WNBA's scoring mark with 51 points Sunday in a 98-65 rout of San Antonio. Associated Press file
Riquna Williams has just created a lot of extra work for herself by setting the WNBA's single-game scoring record.
"I'm overwhelmed," the Shock guard said. "I've been trying to find a moment to myself, but my cell phone won't stop going off."
Williams did a phone interview with ESPN's SportsCenter on Monday afternoon and was named the WNBA's latest Western Conference player of the week.
She also fielded phone calls from family, friends and former coaches, and had other media responsibilities lined up for later in the week.
"It's rough on me because I can't stand the attention," she said with a chuckle. "If I could hide under a shell, I would."
All the commotion is over the 5-foot-7, second-year pro scoring 51 points in Sunday's 98-65 win over the San Antonio Silver Stars.
Williams beat the previous league record of 47, set by Diana Taurasi of the Phoenix Mercury in 2006 and matched by Lauren Jackson of the Seattle Storm in 2007.
"She just got in a zone in the third quarter and continued it into the fourth," Shock head coach Gary Kloppenburg said.
Williams scored 16 points in the first half and another 20 in the third quarter.
s"I wasn't even thinking about (how many points she'd scored) until I got to 39," she said. "Then my teammates started saying, `OK, Bay Bay (Williams' nickname), let's go for 45.' That's all (Shock forward) Glory Johnson was saying, `45, 45, 45.'"
Kloppenburg said he was ready to take her out of the game with 2:49 left, buit the players overruled him.
"Someobody on our bench said she's close to a record, so I decided to leave her in there," he said.
Williams went 17-for-28 from the field, 8-for-14 from 3-point range and 9-for-9 from the field. She said the rim looked as big as "the Grand Canyon. It was enormous" in her nationally televised phone interview on ESPN.
She twice made eight 3-pointers in a game at the University of Miami and had a collegiate scoring high of 36. Her previous Shock high was 28 vs. Phoenix in June.
Williams has additional television interviews scheduled this week at 8 p.m. Tuesday on NBA-TV (Cox 256) and around 8 p.m. Wednesday, during halftime of ESPN2's telecast of the Los Angeles-Connecticut game. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.
Mike Brown 918-581-8390
mike.brown@tulsaworld.com
Original Print Headline: Williams' record game has spotlight
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.
