‘Monday, September 29, 2008– The two teams that will meet in the Finals of the WNBA are now set. On Sunday, the San Antonio Silver Stars defeated the Los Angeles Sparks, 76-72, to win the Western Conference Finals.
The Sparks had won the first game in the three game series, on their home floor, 85-70, but then had to travel to San Antonio for the two remaining games. The Silver Stars squeaked by in the second game, on Saturday, 67-66, and on Sunday won it all, 76-72. (The ending was rather controversial, as many fans felt that Becky Hammon, who scored the crucial points for the Silver Stars, had pushed off against her defender on three straight occasions, but was never called for fouling.)
In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Detroit Shock also had to win it in three. They lost to the Liberty in the first game of their series, 60-56, but the Liberty then had to travel to Detroit for the next two games. The Shock won the second game, 64-55, and tonight, Monday night, beat the Liberty in what started out to be a blowout and then turned out to be a squeaker, prevailing at the end 75-73.
The Liberty and Shock were not playing on Detroit’s home court, the Palace of Auburn Hills, but rather on the campus of Eastern Michigan University, due to scheduling conflicts. Nevertheless, they had home-crowd advantage and managed to win the day.
The Shock led by as many as 20 points in the first half, but the Liberty fuoght back to cut it within two with seconds to go. But the Shock had the ball last and simply ran out the clock.
For the Shock, Deanna Nolan put in 21 points. Taj McWilliams-Franklin contributed 19, and grabbed 8 rebounds. Katie Smith contributed 16.
For the Liberty, center Janel McCarville led the way with 21 points. Shameka Christon was the only other Liberty player in double figures, with 12. Cathrine Kraayeveld had only 3 points, but pulled down 8 rebounds.
This is the third consecutive season that the Detroit Shock have reached the WNBA finals. Detroit beat the Silver Stars in 2006 to win its second league title. Last year, they lost to the Phoenix Mercury (who are the first WNBA champions not to defend their title).
The Shock are coached by ex-Piston great Bill Laimbeer. The Silver Stars are coached by Dan Hughes.