  YPSILANTI, Mich. (AP) - Deanna Nolan scored 21 points and Taj McWilliams-Franklin added 19 to help the Detroit Shock reach the WNBA finals for the third straight season with a 75-73 win Monday over the New York Liberty.
The Shock won the best-of-three Eastern Conference finals and advanced to play San Antonio for the championship. Detroit beat Sacramento in 2006 for its second league title, then lost in five games to Phoenix last year.
The Shock led by 20 in the first half, but had to fight off the deeper Liberty in the second half. Sixth woman Plenette Pierson, who played well in Sunday's Game 2 just seven days after dislocating her shoulder, was limited to two points in six minutes on Monday.
Both games were played on the campus of Eastern Michigan University because of scheduling conflicts at the Palace of Auburn Hills — about an hour's drive away.
New York got within two early in the fourth, but Loree Moore missed a free throw and Alexis Hornbuckle answered with five quick points for the Shock.
Cathrine Kraayeveld missed two free throws with 2:42 remaining that could have again got the Liberty two points away, and Nolan hit a jumper at the other end to make it a six-point game. Detroit had a chance to put the game away from the line, but two misses by Hornbuckle with 17 seconds left gave New York a chance, trailing 75-71.
The Liberty missed two 3-pointers, before McWilliams-Franklin fouled Shameka Christon with 0.8 seconds left. Christon made both free throws, cutting Detroit's deficit to two, but the Shock ran out the clock.
Katie Smith added 16 for the Shock, while Janel McCarville led New York with 21. |