Shock Unable To Keep Up With Fever

NewsOn6.com

TULSA, Oklahoma -- The second-place Indiana Fever jumped out to an early lead and cruised to an 85-65 victory over the Shock Friday, as Tulsa still struggles to grab just its second win of the season.

The two squads traded baskets for nearly the first three minutes of the contest, with Tulsa leading 5-4 at the 7:40 mark in the opening 10 minutes. But Katie Douglas and Tamika Catchings snapped off back-to-back from behind the arc, followed by a layup from Douglas to take a 13-4 advantage just three minutes later.

Tulsa's scoring drought ended, scoring eight points in the final four minutes of the quarter, but Indiana managed nine and went into the second quarter leading 22-12.

The Shock scored the second quarter's first five points, cutting the deficit to just five, but the Fever responded with seven points of its own to push it to a comfortable 12 points. That lead would hold, with Indiana leading at half 42-29.

Tulsa struggled defensively in the third quarter, giving up 27 points to the Fever, including 10 to Jessica Davenport. The Shock managed just 14 points in the third frame and scored the final four points of the quarter to avoid heading into the final 10 minutes trailing by 30 points.

The lead proved to be too much to overcome in the fourth quarter, with the Shock never coming closer than 20 points in the final quarter.

Davenport scored the game-high for Indiana, turning in 17 points and four boards, with Catchings adding 15 points and four rebounds in just 18 minutes. Shavonte Zellous led the charge off of the bench for the Fever, scoring 12 and recording five rebounds in 21 minutes.

Tulsa had just two players score in double-digits in the loss. Forward Tiffany Jackson, who scored six in the game's final two minutes, finished with 12 points and eight rebounds, while Jennifer Lacy added 12 and eight of her own.

The Shock has more than a month left in the season, but is still threatening to turn in one of the worst seasons in WNBA history. In order to avoid the distinction, Tulsa must win three more games or it will supplant the 1998 Washington Mystics as the team with the worst record in league history.