Shock falls on road to postseason-bound Liberty
BY AP Wire Service
Sunday, September 23, 2012
9/23/12 at 6:31 AM
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - The Tulsa Shock saw a 10-point lead at halftime disappear under a New York Liberty barrage in the third quarter on their way to a 91-74 defeat on Saturday.
Ivory Latta had 16 points and six rebounds for the Shock (9-24), which already has its best record in three seasons since moving from Detroit.
Tulsa, which was a combined 9-59 the last two years, dropped to 3-13 on the road heading into the season finale at Indiana on Sunday.
Plenette Pierson had 19 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Liberty.
Essence Carson, who left with an apparent leg injury in the fourth quarter, had 18 points, and Cappie Pondexter scored 17 as New York (15-19) finished the regular season 9-8 at home. The Liberty will take on Connecticut in the first round of the playoffs.
"Tulsa's three guards they had out there gave us trouble, and I think we contained that in the second half, which allowed us to be better offensively," Pondexter said. "Defense definitely gave us that aggressive edge that we need and that we played with all season."
Tulsa also got 14 points, four rebounds and four assists from Riquna Williams.
The Shock led 50-40 at halftime, going on a 10-4 run to close the second quarter. The Liberty struck quickly in the third quarter and tied the game at 52-52 at the 5:23 mark on a pair of free throws by Nicole Powell. New York kept up the pressure, scoring the next 10 points for a 62-52 advantage with 2:33 left in the quarter.
Tulsa pulled within five going into the fourth quarter, but it could not get any closer the rest of the way.
"We played a really good first half and we came out aggressive," Shock coach Gary Kloppenburg said. "We were going inside-out, we were getting shots and they stepped their defense up in the second half. We were in a lot of trouble getting good looks. They (the Liberty) came out with a lot of energy wanting to win their last home game."
Shock guard Temeka Johnson was suspended without pay for one game Saturday as a result of receiving her seventh technical foul of the 2012 season, said Todd DeMoss, senior director of basketball operations with the WNBA. She will serve her suspension in Sunday's game at Indiana.
Tulsa (9-24)
| | Ht. | Pt. | Reb. |
| F | Holt | 6-0 | 5.7 | 2.0 |
| F | G.Johnson | 6-3 | 11.7 | 6.8 |
| F | Pedersen | 6-4 | 4.4 | 4.5 |
| G | Hodges | 5-11 | 7.7 | 1.9 |
| G | T.Johnson | 5-3 | 12.1 | 4.7* |
Indiana (21-12)
| | Ht. | Pt. | Reb. |
| F | Catchings | 6-1 | 17.3 | 7.5 |
| F | Larkins | 6-1 | 4.2 | 4.2 |
| C | Brown | 6-1 | 3.8 | 2.8 |
| G | Phillips | 5-8 | 5.6 | 2.8 |
| G | Pohlen | 6-0 | 4.2 | 1.6 |
*denotes assists
WNBA
Original Print Headline: Shock falls to Liberty on the road
Shock at Fever
When: 4 p.m. Sunday
Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse,
Indianapolis
TV: NBATV-256
