WNBA : Shock outlast Liberty for East finals berth

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Swin Cash’s layup with 8.5 seconds remaining in overtime lifted the Detroit Shock to a 71-70 victory over the New York Liberty in the decisive Game 3 of their first-round Eastern Conference series on Tuesday night.

Deanna Nolan scored 22 points and Cheryl Ford added 17 points and 10 rebounds to help defending champion Detroit advance to the East finals against Indiana. Game 1 is Friday night at Indianapolis.

After Cash’s tiebreaking basket, Janel McCarville had a chance to pull the Liberty even with 3.7 seconds left, but she missed her second free throw and Loree Moore couldn’t keep the rebound inbounds.

Catherine Kraayeveld had 16 points and rookie Tiffany Jackson scored 14 for New York, which led by 10 points midway through the third quarter, and by five points with 2 minutes left in overtime, but couldn’t hold either lead.

After cruising to a 73-51 victory in the opener at home, the Liberty fell short in both games on the top-seeded Shock’s home court. New York rallied from a 17-point third-quarter deficit before losing 76-73 in Game 2.

The Shock missed their first six shots of overtime, including another open layup for Ford, and Kraayeveld’s 3-pointer made it 69-64 with 2 minutes left.

Detroit’s Plenette Pierson, who was awarded the league’s first Sixth Woman award before the game, fouled out without scoring.