TULSA, Okla. – Sue Bird scored 21 points, and Katie Smith added 17 as the Seattle Storm beat the winless Tulsa Shock, 86-73, to snap a four-game skid Friday.
Tina Thompson had 16 points on 5-for-6 shooting for Seattle (2-7), which has beaten Tulsa for both of its wins this season. It was the Storm’s eighth consecutive victory against the Shock.
Bird made her first nine shots from the field.
“Tulsa is an aggressive team, and you have to counter that by spacing the floor and we did that tonight,” Seattle coach Brian Agler said. “Sue took it upon herself to get us going on offense and we had a good balance of scoring.”
Bird became the first player to hit her first nine shots since San Antonio’s Danielle Robinson against the Shock last Sept. 11.
“Sue Bird showed tonight why she’s the best point guard in the world,” said Tulsa coach Gary Kloppenburg, an assistant coach with the Storm from 2000-02 and the son of former longtime Sonics assistant coach Bob Kloppenburg.
Jennifer Lacy scored 16 points to lead Tulsa (0-9).
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