The Shock couldn’t overcome playing shorthanded Thursday and fell to the Seattle Storm 76-67 in the final home game of 2013.
Shekinna Stricklen scored a career-high 26 points as the Storm, which has clinched the final Western Conference playoff berth, beat the Shock for the first time in four meetings this season, before 6,513 spectators at the BOK Center.
The same teams play Saturday at Key Arena in Seattle to conclude the regular season.
Tulsa (11-22) played without Glory Jackson and rookie guard Skylar Diggins, but got a team-high 17 points from Riquna Williams and 15 off the bench from Roneeka Hodges, whose five 3-pointers were one shy of her season and career high.
Williams, playing her first game since setting the league’s single-game scoring record with 51 points Sunday at San Antonio, struggled from the field (6-for-19) and seemed weary from a week of publicity responsibilities.
But she had a blazing spurt in the third quarter when she scored 10 points.
Seattle forward Tina Thompson had 20 points and 10 rebounds in her last visit to Tulsa. The 17-year WNBA veteran and No. 1 overall draft pick in the league’s inaugural season in 1997, has announced her retirement after this year.
“It doesn’t seem like (Thompson) should retire, the way she’s playing,” Shock coach Gary Kloppenburg said.
Injuries have plagued the Shock at various times all season, and the issue raised its head again. Johnson, an all-star averaging 15 points and 8.9 rebounds, sat with a nagging right knee injury, and Kloppenburg said Diggins came up ill before the game.
Liz Cambage, the team’s 6-foot-8 center, went back to Australia last week to rehab her knee when team officials realized she probably wasn’t going to play again in 2013.
But Courtney Paris scored a season-best 13 points in her first start in two seasons with the Shock and Hodges posted her highest point total since scoring 16 in a June 30 loss at the Washington Mystiques.
“We were just thinking compete all the way to the end,” Hodges said. “I think that tonight shows the things we’ve been doing all year. We came up a little bit short, but we always fight.”
Williams said, “We knew we didn’t have a lot of help, but that didn’t mean we don’t go out and play hard.
Tulsa sprinted to a 15-6 lead out of the gates, but fell behind on Seattle’s 15-2 run in the second quarter and trailed by as many as six points in the second and third quarters.
Williams’ two baskets to end the third quarter brought the Shock to within 49-48 and Hodges’ 3-pointer to start the fourth quarter put Tulsa back in front.
From there, the lead changed hands seven times before went ahead to stay on a 3-pointer by Stricklen, who was 6-for-8 from behind the arc.
The Storm scored nine straight points, stretching its lead to 68-60, but Tulsa drew to within 70-67 on Jennifer Lacy’s 3-pointer with 1:10 left, and Williams missed a potential tying trey from the left wing with a minute left. Tanisha Wright’s long jumper made it 72-67 and Tulsa didn’t score again.
“I thought the players we had really battled,” Kloppenburg said. “We shot (39.1) percent and in a game like this, we need to shoot in the mid-40s to have a chance. But I told the players I was proud of them for battling to the end.”
Original Print Headline: Tulsa falls to Seattle in home finale
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.
