USA - Nolan stirs up a storm for Detroit

NEW YORK (WNBA) - All-Star Deanna Nolan scored 18 points and handed out seven assists as the Detroit Shock routed the Seattle Storm 97-70 in WNBA action on Thursday.

Reserve Kara Braxton scored 17 points and Katie Feenstra notched a double-double for the Shock (23-6), who took a commanding 13-2 run in the first quarter by sinking five straight field goals.

Nolan scored eight points in the run that gave Detroit an 11-point lead with 3:06 remaining in the period, and the Shock never trailed after that, leading by as many as 29 at one stage.

Iziane Castro Marques led all scorers with 24 points for the Storm, who shot just 23% from the field in the first half and just under 30% (22-of-74) overall.

The Phoenix Mercury moved a step closer to being the top seed in the Western Conference as Penny Taylor scored 31 points to lead them to a 97-86 triumph over the New York Liberty.

Phoenix (20-11) have not finished first in the conference since the league's inaugural season in 1997, but the win put them a game ahead of second-place San Antonio (18-11) with three games left.

The Mercury led by as many as 13 in the final quarter, but Shameka Christon - who had 25 points - hit a pair of three-pointers to help New York get within 85-81 with 3:03 left.

However, Taylor hit a free throw with 2:34 remaining, and Kelly Miller grabbed the rebound on the subsequent miss and scored quickly to put Phoenix ahead by seven.

In other games, Sophia Young scored 19 points as the San Antonio Silver Stars used a third-quarter run to post a 72-61 victory over the Sacramento Monarchs.

With the game tied at 40-40 with 6:29 left in the third, San Antonio went on a 15-4 run as Sacramento shot just 36 percent (5-of-20) in the decisive period.

A three-pointer by Shanna Crossley capped the run, and Sacramento never got closer than 11 at 64-53 with 6:20 left in the fourth.

And Alana Beard scored 21 points to lead the Washington Mystics to an 80-75 win over the Los Angeles Sparks.

DeLisha Milton-Jones added 12 points for the Mystics (14-15), who won their fourth straight and moved two games ahead of New York (12-17) for the fourth and final play-off spot in the Eastern Conference.

Ian Parker
FIBA