Shock Defeats Mercury In WNBA Finals Opener

Shock 108, Mercury 100

The Shock's Deanna Nolan gets to the basket past Diana Taurasi, left, of the Phoenix Mercury in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals in Detroit on Wednesday. (Gregory Shamus - Getty Images)

Plenette Pierson and Kara Braxton combined for 45 points and 22 rebounds to lead the defending champion Detroit Shock to a 108-100 victory over the Phoenix Mercury last night in Game 1 of the WNBA finals in Auburn Hills, Mich.

Detroit took the lead in the best-of-five series despite the absence of all-star Cheryl Ford, who sat out with a knee injury. It was the highest-scoring game in the history of the finals.

Four other players scored in double figures for the Shock, which was able to push around the Mercury, which swept its previous two best-of-three playoff series.

Detroit outrebounded Phoenix 48-30 and scored often on putbacks and other high-percentage shots. The Shock's bench outscored Phoenix's 50-12.

Penny Taylor scored 32 points and Cappie Pondexter had 27 to lead the Mercury, which struggled when all-star Diana Taurasi missed significant stretches of the game with foul trouble. . . .

Seattle Storm forward Lauren Jackson was awarded the league most valuable player award before the game. It was the second MVP award for the Australian star. . . .

Tamika Catchings of the Indiana Fever had surgery to repair a torn Achilles' tendon in her right foot.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Duquesne's Stuard Baldonado, one of five players shot on campus last year, was indefinitely suspended Tuesday, four days after he was arrested on a drug conspiracy charge.

COLLEGES: Two female athletes at Baylor, a basketball and volleyball player, were charged with beating a woman in a park. Basketball player Latara Shanica Darrett and volleyballer Ashlee Genae Cooper, both 19-year-old sophomores, surrendered to police Tuesday and were charged with assault causing bodily injury, police said.

PRO BASKETBALL: Houston Rockets swingman Justin Reed was released after his arrest Tuesday night on a marijuana charge in Jackson, Miss .

AUTO RACING: NASCAR iron man Ricky Rudd, who once taped his eyes open to race, will be unable to compete for the first time in a career spanning more than a quarter century. Rudd separated his left shoulder in a wreck Sunday at California Speedway.

HOCKEY: Pierre Turgeon, 38, ended his 19-year NHL career, retiring after groin and calf injuries limited him to 17 games last season with the Colorado Avalanche.

HIGH SCHOOLS: Forest Park senior forward Amber Epps orally committed to play basketball for George Mason, making her the third player from the Woodbridge school to commit to the Patriots in recent weeks. Senior forward Deidre Richardson and junior forward Briana Scott committed to Mason over the summer. Chrissy Kelly, Forest Park's coach for the past seven seasons, left to become an assistant under George Mason Coach Debbie Taneyhill in April.

OBITUARY: Max McNab, a former NHL player and general manager of the Washington Capitals who drafted some of the franchise's all-time greats, died on Sunday. He was 83.

As a player, McNab spent parts of four seasons with the Detroit Red Wings, winning a Stanley Cup in 1950. He served as general manager of the Capitals from 1975 to 1981, drafting Bengt Gustafsson, Mike Gartner and Bobby Carpenter. He also served as general manager of the New Jersey Devils.

McNab's son, Peter, played 14 seasons in the NHL with New Jersey, Buffalo, Boston and Vancouver. His other son, David, is the assistant general manager of reigning champion Anaheim.

-- From News Services and Staff Reports