Seattle Storm bounce back from 0-3 start

SEATTLE – The crowd of 7,489 roared, but Seattle knew Tulsa’s defense was just about to do the same.

The Storm reeled off a 12-3 spurt midway through the third quarter to take a 48-42 advantage, leading Tulsa coach Gary Kloppenburg to call a timeout. He emphasized stepping up his signature defense.

But unlike the past three games to start the season, the Storm were ready and went on to a 76-58 win at KeyArena on Friday.

“We felt like it was time to take over and extend the lead,” Storm forward Camille Little said. “They called a timeout to try to stop our run and we wanted to come in and make a stop and keep it moving. It was a test for us and I think we passed it.”

After Kloppenburg’s timeout, Seattle went about 2 1/2 minutes without scoring as the Shock cut Seattle’s lead to 48-45.

But Seattle, getting good ball movement and solid bench play, responded with an 18-3 run over the next 6 minutes to take a 66-48 lead.

Storm captain Sue Bird broke out of her offensive slump, scoring a game-high 27 points on 9-of-15 shooting. She was shooting 32.3 percent from the field (29.4 from 3-point range) and committing a career-high 4.0 turnovers.

Little added 19 points and nine rebounds, compensating for an off night from center Ann Wauters, who had two points.