Shock Falls To Defending Champs In Tight Contest

The Tulsa Shock were oh-so-close to pulling out the franchise's biggest win since moving from Detroit, but Maya Moore didn't allow that to happen.

Moore hit two free throws with 11.8 seconds remaining for the last of her career-high 38 points as the Minnesota Lynx defeated the Shock, 94-93 on Friday night.

Moore also had 13 rebounds for defending WNBA champion Minnesota (3-0). Moore, the MVP of the WNBA Finals last fall, has topped 30 points in every game this year and leads the league in scoring with a 35 per game average.

Semione Augustus added 23 points to help the Lynx win their eighth straight in Tulsa and 15th in their last 16 games against the Shock.

Skylar Diggins led Tulsa with 21 points and had a shot at winning the game just before the final buzzer, but it fell short as time expired. Diggins struggled with foul trouble in the first half and also missed five free throws that could have given Tulsa the win.

The Lynx led 35-21 after one quarter, setting a franchise record for points in the opening period, and pushed their advantage to 16 early in the second. They led 60-48 at halftime and held a big lead deep into the third quarter before the Shock battled back.

Minnesota led 80-69 with 43 second left in the third quarter, but Tulsa responded with an 11-2 run to pull within two three minutes into the fourth. After the Lynx took a six-point edge with 6:24 left, Tulsa scored nine straight points, taking its first lead at 89-88 on rookie Odyssey Sims' lay-up with 3:51 left.

Diggins made it 93-90 with 1:04 to go, but Minnesota's Janel McCarville hit a 15-foot jumper with 46 seconds left and Moore's free throws pushed the Lynx back ahead by one with 11.8 left.

Sims finished with 13 points and five other Tulsa players scored in double figures. Former Oklahoma All-American Courtney Paris added 12 rebounds to lead the Shock.