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Sparks-Shock Preview

Jul 10, 2015 - 5:03 PM Skylar Diggins' season-ending injury marred a Tulsa Shock victory the last time they played on their home floor, and their subsequent road trip began with three consecutive losses without their star guard.

One of those defeats came at the hands of the Los Angeles Sparks, who received a career-best performance from Kristi Toliver.

After picking up their first victory without Diggins, the Shock look to avenge that loss and extend the Sparks' road woes Saturday night.

Diggins went down with a torn ACL in the final minute of a 93-89 win over Seattle on June 28 as the Shock (9-4) improved to 5-0 at home. The adjustment to her absence didn't go so well as they hit the road, and Riquna Williams' last-second miss against Los Angeles on July 3 in a 98-95 loss pushed their skid to three.

Tulsa snapped it Tuesday by beating Atlanta 85-75 behind 24 points from Plenette Pierson and 23 from Williams, who hit 18 of 20 from the free-throw line.

Williams shot just 2 of 13 from the field, but she's averaging 18.8 points in the four games since Diggins' injury. The Shock won't have All-Star Glory Johnson for the season because she's pregnant and have played the last 10 without Odyssey Sims while she nurses a leg injury.

"This team is still learning," coach Fred Williams said. "We're building, we're young and we have a lot of players here who are pretty hungry."

Williams scored 22 points last week against the Sparks, but it wasn't enough to overcome a franchise-record 43 from Toliver, who hit 7 of 12 from 3-point range.

Toliver has totaled 26 points while hitting 8 of 24 from the floor in two games since, though, with the Sparks (2-9) dropping both. They fell to 0-5 on the road with Wednesday's 70-63 defeat to San Antonio.

Jantel Lavender finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds while Nneka Ogwumike added 16 and 13 as Los Angeles was held to 34.8 percent shooting.

"You just have to do the little things," Lavender said. "You have to box out, you have to get those loose balls, you have to do the small things that you may never have to do at home with the crowd behind you. We haven't been able to get over that hump. Doing the little things, getting those loose balls, getting those rebounds that are clutch in a game and getting stops."

Lavender and Ogwumike have been solid on the front line despite Candace Parker sitting out the season to rest, but they'll have a tough challenge down low in this contest. The Shock rank second in the league in rebounding at 37.4 per game with Courtney Paris' 10.3 average leading the WNBA.

Tulsa held a 32-29 rebounding edge in the first meeting with the Sparks.