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    CT Sun
    Monday, May 13, 2024

    Shocked in Tulsa

    Tulsa, Okla. - Pick a stat, any stat, and it was brutally bad for the Connecticut Sun on Friday.

    Connecticut shot 29.2 percent as it fell to the struggling Tulsa Shock 64-58 before 5,294 fans at the BOK Center.

    Allison Hightower (14 points) and Kelsey Griffin (10) were the only Connecticut players to score in double figures.

    The Sun (4-10) missed 51 of 72 shots. Tina Charles, the reigning WNBA MVP, struggled the most as she missed 11 of 13 shots and finished with seven points, 12 rebounds and three steals.

    Tulsa (5-13) has the league's worst record. Yet it battered the Sun on the boards Friday 62-39. Those 62 rebounds are a franchise record against Connecticut.

    "Give them credit," Sun coach Anne Donovan said of the Shock. "All the hustle plays went their way. They really got after it. Our defense was pretty solid, but it was the second and third attempts that made it tough."

    Glory Johnson (14 points, 17 rebounds) and Liz Cambage (13 points, 17 rebounds) led the Shock.

    Connecticut beat Tulsa 88-69 on July 2.

    The Sun were leading 50-46 on a Tan White layup with seven minutes remaining when Tulsa came out of a timeout and reeled off a 13-4 run over the next 5 minutes, 18 seconds. That was more than enough to give the Shock consecutive victories for the first time this season.

    The Sun will try to bounce back tonight in San Antonio.

    Connecticut struggled all night from the field, tying a franchise record low with just two made field goals in the first quarter on the way to hitting 21 of 72 (29.2 percent) from the field.

    The return of White and Renee Montgomery from lengthy absences due to injury - Montgomery was out 11 games with a high ankle sprain while White sat 10 games with a broken finger - gave the Sun experienced depth it badly missed.

    White supplied six points, three assists and her usual tenacious defense while Montgomery had a big 3-pointers at the end of the third quarter to put Connecticut up 44-43 going into the final quarter.

    But after a promising first three minutes, the Sun fell apart offensively, making just three field goals in the final seven minutes.

    • Shavonte Zellous had 16 points to lead the Indiana Fever to a 77-70 victory over the Washington Mystics.

    Briann January had 12 points and Erlana Larkins had 10 points and nine rebounds for the Fever (6-8), who have won five of the last six games.

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