Sue Bird helped lead a re-energized Seattle offense in an 86-73 win over the Tulsa Shock Friday night at the Bank of Oklahoma Center. Bird made her first nine shots on the way to 21 points on 9 of 12 shooting,
The Storm, ending the road trip 1-4, shot a season-best 54 percent from the floor. The win moved Seattle to 2-7. Both wins are over Tulsa, which fell to 0-9.
After a back-and-forth first quarter, Seattle went up 21-18 lead early in the second quarter with a 9-0 run. Tina Thompson came off the bench to knock down three of her four threes to help Seattle take a 53-43 advantage into the half. Thompson finished 4-4 from behind the arc to finish with 16 points.
Staked a 10-point lead, the Storm controlled the second half by dominating the paint en route to out-rebounding the Shock 36-23. Katie Smith took advantage of an over-aggressive Shock defense, scoring 17 points on 5-for-10 shooting. Rookie Shekinna Stricklen chipped in with 12 points in 18 minutes in the most efficient game of her young WNBA career.
Seattle returns home to Key Arena for a three-game home stand. Sunday, it will take on the undefeated Minnesota Lynx for the third time this season.