Tulsa Shock lose record 18th straight: Fan take

The Tulsa Shock can't find a way to win, even with a 15 point lead in the third quarter. The Los Angeles Sparks used a 16-0 run to come from behind and defeat Tulsa 73-67 on the road. Candace Parker led the way with 23 points, 16 of them in the second half.

It was the 18th straight loss for Tulsa, a new WNBA record for consecutive games of futility.

Tulsa, believe it or not, was ahead 39-24 with seven minutes left to play in the third quarter. They even shot 66.7 percent from the field in the opening half. Los Angeles then outscored Tulsa 38-20 over the final portion of the game.

Rookie Liz Cambage was non-existent for the Shock. She finished the game with just five points . Sheryl Swoopes showed why she is still a force to be reckoned with when she scored 17 points and pulled down six rebounds, but it wasn't enough.

As has been the case all season long, Tulsa can't seem to put together an all-around performance to win more than one game. Los Angeles won just their fourth game on the road. I had pinpointed this game as the one Tulsa would win to break out of their amazingly bad losing streak. They almost got it done.

Los Angeles is still fighting for a playoff spot and the return of their star Parker from a knee injury has ignited the team on the end of this long road trip. The Sparks still can make the postseason with some help.

For Tulsa, the agonizing wait for the season to be over continues. The Sunday night game against Los Angeles was the first of six games in 10 days for the Shock. They host the best team in the WNBA when the Minnesota Lynx come to the BOK Center Tuesday night. The closest Tulsa came to beating Minnesota was a 75-65 setback June 7. After that, the Lynx have destroyed Tulsa by 25 points or more twice.

For Shock fans, we'll clearly have to wait until next year to get better. I don't think the team will win anymore games this year. Head coach Teresa Edwards has tried everything to try to win including shuffling the lineup and putting in different personnel but nothing has seemed to work. If the team can't hold a 15-point lead late in the game, there's not much else Edwards can do at this point.

William Browning has been a fan of women's basketball since the Jackie Stiles-led Missouri State in the late 1990s. Browning's favorite WNBA team is the Tulsa Shock, the nearest team to his hometown of Branson, Mo.

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