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Shock-Silver Stars Preview

Jul 15, 2010 - 6:50 PM By BRETT HUSTON STATS Writer

Tulsa (3-15) at San Antonio (6-11), 8:00 p.m. EDT

The San Antonio Silver Stars are coming off consecutive 20-point defeats, and with four losses in five games, their playoff position is becoming more tenuous by the day.

Facing the Tulsa Shock should give them an excellent chance to get back on track.

The Silver Stars already have beaten Tulsa twice, and a third victory Friday night at the AT&T Center would hand the Shock a franchise record-tying 13th consecutive loss.

San Antonio (6-11) has dropped five straight road games, so a return home - where it has won three in a row by double digits - will be a welcome sight.

Even more agreeable will be seeing the Shock (3-15) occupying the visitors' bench. After starting 3-3 in its first season after relocating from Detroit, Tulsa has lost 12 straight by an average of 15.5 points.

The Shock led Los Angeles by five at halftime Tuesday before being outscored 28-13 in the third quarter, the difference in an 87-71 loss that put them one defeat from matching the franchise record for futility set in 2002.

"I thought the first 20 minutes went pretty well," coach Nolan Richardson said. "I thought we played the kind of basketball we're capable playing to be able to win. But it's always the third quarter that we come out. ... It's very difficult to understand why we come out flat."

San Antonio has cruised to victory in both meetings this year with Tulsa - the teams play twice more after this meeting - with Sophia Young averaging 18.0 points.

Young has been held to 12.2 per game over the last five games and the Silver Stars lost four, but defense has been the team's biggest issue during that stretch. San Antonio has surrendered 84.0 points per game and 50.2 percent shooting in those four defeats, including letting last-place Chicago hit 50 percent in an 88-61 defeat Wednesday.

"Speaking (about our defense), we definitely need to box out because they got a lot of second-chance points," Young said. "A lot of times we would have two people going to the ball and nobody would get it, and they would just come up with loose balls."

The Silver Stars have been outscored by 6.9 points per game this season, better than only Detroit (10.8). Despite their struggles, the Shock trail San Antonio and Phoenix by just 3 1/2 games for the Western Conference's final two playoff spots.

If they're going to catch either team, they'll need their starting backcourt to step up. Scholanda Robinson averages a team-leading 11.7 points and Shanna Crossley adds 9.5 per game, but they've totaled 15 in the last two contests.