SEATTLE — If this is the turnaround the Detroit Shock was looking for, credit Katie Smith for starting it.
Smith scored 19 points, including the go-ahead basket with 1:01 left, to lift the Shock to a 66-63 victory over the Seattle Storm on Wednesday night.
Smith scored 16 points in the second half for the defending champion Shock (4-7), who won their second straight road game.
“I feel good shooting the ball. It’s just that fine line of getting everybody their stuff and you finding ways to be aggressive and knock down shots,” said Smith, who made six of 11 shots overall, five of seven in the second half. “Obviously, I was lucky enough to get a couple to go down, and we were able to take the lead late in the game.”
Camille Little had 12 points to lead the Storm (8-6), which dropped their second consecutive home game after winning 15 in a row on their floor.
Seattle also lost All-Star center Lauren Jackson for the final 13½ minutes after she hobbled to the locker room at 3:28 of the third quarter with a strained left calf. Jackson finished with 11 points.
“We’ll get an MRI on it (Thursday) morning, and we’ll see how significant it is,” Storm coach Brian Agler said.
Smith scored the last six points for Detroit. She made two free throws to get the Shock within 63-62 at 1:41, a go-ahead 13-footer for a 64-63 lead at 1:01, and a pair of free throws with 3.6 seconds left.
“She has carried the team on her back and taken over games,” Detroit coach Rick Mahorn said. “She says, ‘Look, follow me, it’s my time.”’
Deanna Nolan added 11 points for Detroit, on its first two-game winning streak of the season.
“It’s nice that we won in Connecticut (Saturday) and came here to Seattle and won,” Mahorn said. “It’s two quality teams that, to me, are going to be competing for getting into the finals and trying to bring home a championship to each club.”
The Shock controlled the first half, shooting 59.3 percent (16 of 27) and building an 11-point lead.
Seattle, which trailed 39-30 at halftime, went on a 14-4 run to start the second half and took its first lead at 44-43 on two free throws by Little with 4:14 left in the third quarter.
Detroit took a 50-48 lead into the fourth, but the Storm went in front 57-55 on a layup by Janell Burse. They eventually led 61-57 before the Shock scored seven of the game’s final nine points.
The Storm had a chance for the winning basket after Detroit threw the ball out of bounds with 19.6 seconds left. But Sue Bird was forced into a 12-footer from the right of the lane with 4.5 seconds left that fell way short. Seattle had to foul, and Smith hit the clinching free throws.
Bird, Tanisha Wright and Katie Gearlds added 10 points apiece for the Storm.
“The bottom line is they made plays at the end of the game to take the lead and we couldn’t counteract that,” Bird said. “But beyond that, our first half was terrible, and that’s where we lost the game, in my opinion. We were able to fight back in the second half, but if we don’t go down (so far), maybe it’s a different story.”
Detroit shot 53.2 percent (25 of 47) and limited Seattle to 41.7 percent (25 of 60).
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
