Kristi Toliver helps Los Angeles Sparks snatch a 76-75 win against Tulsa Shock – WNBA Recap
On Tuesday night at the Staples Centre, the matchup between the Los Angeles Sparks and Tulsa Shock went right down to the wire and it needed a clutch three from Kristi Toliver for the Sparks to snatch a 76-75
win at home.
Toliver finished the game with 16 points to go along with 5 assists and 6 rebounds. DeLisha Milton-Jones also played very well to finish with 16 points of her own and also collected 8 rebounds.
Candace Parker had another great night finishing with double-double figures of 10 points and 10 rebounds to go with 3 blocks and 3 steals while Alana Beard also chipped in 10 points in the ball game. Nneka Ogwumike
had 14 points and 7 rebounds. She was also responsible for turning down 3 shots each in the game.
For Shock, the best scoring option came from the bench in the form of Riquna Williams, who erupted with a game high of 19 points, 5 rebounds and 5 steals. Two other players for the Tulsa team finished with double-digit
score, Temeka Johnson 13 points and Ivory Latta 11. However the rest of the roster failed to offer much support in the game.
The Sparks made the most of their size as they collected 36 rebounds in the game as compared to the 27 by Tulsa. Out of those 36 rebounds, 7 came on the offensive glass.
But the LA team dug themselves a hole by committing an astonishing 28 turnovers, 12 more than Tulsa. The one thing that kept LA in the matchup before eventually snatching it away in the clutch was there conversion
from the free throw line. They had a total of 23 attempts from the stripe and were successful in making all of them.
In the early stages of the first quarter, LA raced to an 11-0 lead and managed to maintain a double digit advantage, 25-15, after the first 10 minutes.
Tulsa tried their best to cut the lead down but were unable to do so in the opening stages of the second quarter and by the 5:21 mark, Sparks’ advantage still remained in double figures. In the next several minutes,
Shock reeled off a 9-2 run and were trailing by only 36-40 at the half way stage.
LA upped the tempo to start the second half and were able to extend their lead to as much as 8. The visitors responded with a 9-0 run of their own and at the 4:36 mark in the third, achieved their first lead
of the ball game.
Tulsa held on to the lead for the remaining part of the third quarter and were ahead by 55-52 before heading into the final quarter.
The action remained end to end in the fourth and no side was able to get a definitive run. With 16.7 seconds remaining in the contest Glory Johnson converted two free throws to put her team ahead by 4 points
at 75-71.
Toliver responded with a deuce on the other end to cut the deficit down to 2 with 7.6 seconds remaining. On the next possession Parker took a quick foul to send Karima Christmas to the free throw line. Christmas
missed on both her attempts to give the Sparks a lifeline and with 1.1 seconds remaining, Toliver sent a dagger from long range to snatch a win for her team.
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