Tom Wolf's DETROIT SHOCK Page

for 2006

WNBA Finals Game 5 versus the Sacramento Monarchs

DETROIT, Sept. 9 (Ticker) -- When the WNBA Finals tipped off last week, Katie Smith was the only player on the court who had not won a championship. That is no longer the case. Smith scored 17 points, including two clutch jumpers in the final two minutes, as the Detroit Shock claimed their second title with a stirring 80-75 victory over the Sacramento Monarchs. The Shock, who also won the title in 2003, won the last two games of the best-of-five series and dethroned the Monarchs, who were trying to become the league's third repeat champion. Instead, Detroit joined Houston (1997-2000) and Los Angeles (2001-02) as multiple championship winners.

Deanna Nolan scored 24 points and was named Finals MVP. Nolan scored 10 points in the pivotal third quarter, when the Shock held the Monarchs to nine points and took the lead for good. A 3-pointer by Nolan gave Detroit a 68-55 lead before Sacramento made a final charge, closing to 75-69 on a 3-pointer by Kristin Haynie with 2:05 remaining. Smith answered with a 3-pointer 19 seconds later.

A three-point play by Haynie and 3-pointer by foul-plagued Nicole Powell pulled the Monarchs within 78-75 with 33 seconds to play. Sacramento elected not to foul but Smith foiled the strategy by draining a 15-footer with 14 seconds remaining. Smith grabbed a last-gasp shot and hurled the ball skyward in celebration. She is the all-time leading scorer in women's pro basketball history and a former WNBA scoring champion, but she never had been on a championship team - until now.

That it took several seconds for confetti to rain down from the hallowed rafters of Joe Louis Arena was irrelevant at that point. The Shock was officially WNBA champions. Again. In one of the most blood-tingling WNBA Finals, the Shock had one last rally in it -- then one last stand -- before it dethroned the Sacramento Monarchs, 80-75, in Game 5 Saturday before a thundering sold-out crowd of 19,671 to claim the franchise's second title in four seasons.

Forward Cheryl Ford, who scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, said playing at the Joe was "claustrophobic." Reserve guard Elaine Powell, who also won the title with the Shock in 2003, described this championship as more emotional than the first. "The first one you're just excited, you're happy," Powell said. "This one's more emotional because you never know when you're going to get back in this situation."

And the Shock might not have been in this position had it not been for guard Deanna Nolan -- who led the team with 24 points on 10-of-23 shooting to earn the Finals MVP award -- and Smith, whose pinpoint shooting down the stretch enabled the Shock to hold on. The Shock rallied from an eight-point first-half deficit and later almost squandered a 13-point fourth-quarter lead. Sacramento wouldn't go quietly. Monarchs swingman Nicole Powell sank a three-pointer with 33.2 seconds left to cut the Detroit edge to 78-75 and hush the crowd.

On the Shock's next possession, Smith dribbled to her left, trying to kill some clock, before she drained a 17-foot jumper -- the title-clincher -- with 14.8 seconds left. "I just knew we had to get a bucket," said Smith, who scored 13 of her 17 points in the second half. "But if not, I had faith in our defense." This was another wacky, hold-your-breath victory for the Shock. How the Shock can go from dysfunctional at one moment -- as it was at times in the first half -- to as cohesive a unit there is in the WNBA the next is beyond explanation. The first half told one side of the story to this Jekyll-and-Hyde bunch.

The Shock's shot selection (12-for-33) in the half was questionable, and Laimbeer was clearly upset with his team's lack of execution on the offensive end. Sacramento converted 10 Shock turnovers into 10 points. The Shock's frontcourt, which returned to dominance in Game 4, was again missing. By halftime, with the Monarchs ahead, 44-36, Ford had three fouls, forward Swin Cash had four turnovers and center Ruth Riley hadn't even played 10 minutes.

"There wasn't anything I could tell them to do differently," Laimbeer said, "because they had to want it more than the other team and take care of the problems." The way they came back onto the court -- starting the second half with a 10-0 run -- indicated Detroit wasn't going to let this opportunity slip away. And it didn't. "It was just like, 'a job well done,' " reserve forward Plenette Pierson said. "I think even after winning Game 4, everybody counted us out. We had that monkey on our back, and we threw him off tonight."