Tulsa Shock 87, Phoenix Mercury 75; Shock Nabs First Win Of The ... - Swish Appeal

After ten games, the Tulsa Shock has finally achieved their first win of the 2012 WNBA season - an 87-75 victory over the Phoenix Mercury.

The Shock was propelled by a 25-point first quarter to take a seven-point lead into the second. A rough go in the second in which Tulsa scored but three buckets from the field gave the Mercury a 3-point halftime lead and put the Shock into familiar territory - trailing their opponent. However, Tulsa rebounded in the third quarter to tie the game at 56 all and turned in a winning performance in the fourth to claim their first win of the season.

With 3:43 to play, Temeka Johnson nailed a 3-pointer with the assist to Riquna Williams to give the Shock a 10-point lead and ice the game. Of course, no Tulsa game is complete without a little nailbiting for Shock fans and this win was no different. A Samantha Prahalis jumper with 1:26 to play cut the lead to five as the clock couldn't run fast enough. The difference in this game was, unlike in many of their other near wins, Tulsa closed the contest with solid shooting from the stripe. The Shock were 7-of-8 from the free throw line in the last 95 seconds to hold onto their Father's Day fiesta.

Tulsa's ever-stout defense led to 25 Mercury miscues, as seven members of the Phoenix squad had a multiple-turnover game. Johnson led the way for the Shock with 22 points, six rebounds and five assists. Williams added 19 points, four rebounds and three steals in the win, and Glory Johnson and Ivory Latta added 12 apiece for Tulsa.

Phoenix got 24 points from Dewanna Bonner and 22 points from Charde Houston, but the team could not overcome those pesky turnovers coupled with another eye-popping stat - the Shock got to the line for 40 free throw attempts which resulted in 29 points. On the contrary, the Mercury were just 11-of-18 from the line.

With the win, Tulsa moves to 1-9 and shockingly enough stays in the hunt for a spot in the Western Conference Playoffs as both the Mercury and the Seattle Storm have just two wins on the season thus far. The win breaks a 16-game losing streak that dates back to an 83-72 victory on Aug. 28, 2011.