TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Ivory Latta had 18 points to lead a balanced scoring attack and the Tulsa Shock used a strong second half and earned a 78-62 victory over the Washington Mystics on Sunday.
The 62 points were the fewest scored by a Shock opponent this season.
``I was very pleased with our effort. We have been wanting to sustain our effort for 40 minutes and I thought we did that tonight,'' Tulsa coach Gary Kloppenburg said.
``We wanted to go after them on defense and we made them make tough shots throughout the game. That's the effort we need every night to give ourselves a chance to win.''
Leading 43-40 with 3:30 left in the third quarter, Tulsa (3-13) finished the period on a 14-8 run to match its biggest lead of the game at 57-48.
Riquana Williams opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer to push the lead to 60-48 and Washington (3-12) would get no closer than 10 points the rest of the game.
``We knew they would pressure us and our turnovers led to easy baskets for them,'' Washington coach Trudi Lacey said.
``Late in the game, we were trying to be aggressive and get to the free-throw line, but it wasn't enough.''
Temeka Johnson had 17 points for the Shock and Glory Johnson added 16, despite leaving the game with 7:55 remaining after a flagrant foul by Washington's Monique Currie on a layup attempt.
In a first half filled with runs, Tulsa grabbed its largest lead of the opening half with a 9-0 burst to take a 34-25 lead and force a Washington timeout with 2:51 left before halftime.
Latta started the run with a 3-pointer and later added a steal and layup, one of Washington's 13 first-half turnovers.
``We gave them too many points tonight,'' Lacey said. ``The second-chance opportunities really hurt us.''
The Mystics closed the half with a three-point play from Crystal Langhorne to pull within 36-30 at the half.
Langhorne finished as Washington's leading scorer with 13 points.
