Tulsa win second straight after ending 10-game skid

TULSA, Okla, Aug 19, (AP): Riquna Williams had 18 points and six assists to help the Tulsa Shock beat the Phoenix Mercury 74-59 on Tuesday night, snapping their fivegame home losing streak.

Tulsa, which ended its 10-game losing skid against the Liberty on Saturday, won for the first time at home since the league approved its relocation to the Dallas-Fort Worth area on July 23.

Karima Christmas and Odyssey Sims added 15 points apiece for Tulsa (12-14). Courtney Paris had 11 points and 11 rebounds for her fifth double-double.

Candice Dupree led Phoenix (1510) with 18 points and DeWanna Bonner added 13. Brittney Griner had nine points, seven rebounds and six blocks.

Bonner followed up her own miss to give Phoenix a 44-42 third-quarter lead, its first since it was 8-7. But Tulsa scored the final five points of the quarter and started the fourth on a 4-0 spurt to take a 51-44 lead. The Shock closed the game on a 15-5 run.

In Los Angeles, Tamika Catchings had 20 points and seven rebounds to help the Indiana Fever beat the Los Angeles Sparks 79-68 on Tuesday night for their seventh

Amla displayed the form that had him rated the world’s best batsman as he mastered the bowling on a slow track and scored 124 for South Africa to open with 304 for seven off their 50 overs.

New Zealand kept up with the required run rate for most of their chase but lost wickets at key intervals and were bowled out for 284 in the 49th over of the first of a three-match series.

Amla scored his 21st ODI century off 126 balls and featured in a 185-run partnership for the second wicket with Rilee Rossouw, who tempered his usual aggressive style to build a steady innings before being bowled in the 42nd over for 89.

It proved a positive start after New Zealand had won the toss and sent the hosts into bat.

But a chance of a much bigger score, on the same pitch where they lost to New Zealand in a Twenty20 international on Sunday, disappeared as South Africa lost five wickets in their last eight overs.

South Africa made an immediate breakthrough on the New Zealand batting as Dale Steyn had Luke Ronchi caught behind at the end of the first over after seeing two earlier deliveries dropped.

The second ODI is in Potchefstroom on Sunday.