The Shock pulled out a 77-69 victory in Game One of the Championship series. The victory gave Detroit back the home court advantage, and they have been almost unbeatable on their home court this season.
In the first half it was easy to tell which team had championship experience. Detroit played intense ball from the opening tip, but they played their normal style of basketball. San Antonio, on the other hand, came out either tight or tired. In the first half, jump shot after jump shot bounced off the rim, the classic sign of tight legs.
The teams sparred in the first quarter with Detroit holding a small lead for the last 7:30 of the period. Even then, the key to the game was evident. Detroit is known as a defensive team. Their defense was excellent, but in this game it was their offense that shined. Kara Braxton picked a good game to pay attention. She was aggressive throughout, and Taj McWilliams Franklin continued to play inspired basketball in search of her first ring. The pair combined to score 18 of the first 27 Shock points and forced San Antonio to play zone to try and control them. Detroit did an excellent job of handling the zone, hitting enough jump shots to force the Silver stars back to man defense. After missing all three shots she took in the first quarter, Katie Smith hit four shots, three of them from long range, in a row to keep San Antonio out of the zone. Hitting four of seven first-half shots, Deanna Nolan showed signs of breaking her shooting slump. (Note to Game Three announcers Pam Ward and Carolyn Peck: A player who makes only 14 of 44 shots in two games is NOT having a great offensive series).
Detroit’s defense was also on full display. They took San Antonio’s leader and really the heart of their team, Becky Hammon, totally out of the offense. She went only one for four in the first quarter and did not get a shot off in the second. Much of the Silver Stars’ offense comes not only from Hammon’s shooting, but also from her creating opportunities for other players. Detroit totally took that away.
The result was a 42-32 Detroit halftime lead.
The third quarter was more of the same. Hammon only got off one shot, a miss, and Detroit’s offense continued to find the holes in San Antonio’s defense. The teams played to a tie for the quarter while Detroit maintained its 10-point lead.
San Antonio gave little indication of making a comeback early in the final period. Two baskets by Smith and one by Nolan gave Detroit it biggest lead at 65-51 with 7:45 to play. But from somewhere the Stars found a way to cut the lead. They did it with two factors that had been missing earlier in the game. First, Hammon found a way to get to the basket. She started being more aggressive and was able to beat her defender on the perimeter and penetrate. Secondly, the Silver Stars got their fast break going. They normally score a good portion of their offense on the break and Detroit had shut it down for three-plus quarters.
Two breakaway layups by Hammon and five points from Sophia Young keyed a 16-4 San Antonio run that brought them to within two with three minutes to play. Two Hammon free throws tied the game 45 seconds later. But they were never able to get the lead. As is so often the case, a team coming back that can go ahead at any point falls back. But Hammon’s free throws were the final two points San Antonio scored in the game. Detroit ran off the final seven points of the game to claim the victory.
Each team played the game shorthanded. Plenette Pierson joined Cheryl Ford on the sidelines for the Shock and back-up guards Helen Darling and Edwige Lawson-Wade were not available to San Antonio. Ann Wauters was playing on an ankle tweaked in the final game of the Western Conference Finals against Los Angeles. The Detroit players, especially Kelly Schumacher, who had to step in for their injured teammates were more effective than San Antonio’s. In fact the only reserve guard who got any minutes for the Stars was rookie Morenike Atunrase, who played less than 13 minutes and looked, well, like a rookie in her biggest game to date.
The second game will be played Friday evening in San Antonio. If Dan Hughes and his staff can’t find a way to get their offense on track against the strong Detroit defense, his team will face an almost insurmountable deficit with the team travelling to Detroit for the next two games.