WNBA: Cash, Nolan lead Shock’s victory over Sun

Swin Cash had 18 points and 13 rebounds, and Deanna Nolan scored seven points in a key third-quarter run, leading the Detroit Shock to a 77-74 victory over the Connecticut Sun on Wednesday in Auburn Hills, Mich.

Nolan finished with 17 points for the Shock, who improved to 11-2 despite missing All-Star forward Cheryl Ford. Plenette Pierson added 15 points, and Shannon Johnson finished with 12.

In their first game after a long West Coast trip, the Shock struggled for 2 1/2 quarters before rallying to win.

“I told them after the game in Sacramento that this was going to happen,” Detroit coach Bill Laimbeer said. “It always does in the first game back from the Coast. We were lethargic and we didn’t play well. Luckily, we did enough to win the game.”

With Ford out, Cash moved to power forward and picked up the slack.

“It was tough – it took most of the first half to get my wind back,” she said. “I didn’t have a great shooting night, but I thought it was probably my best defensive game of the season.”

Nolan bounced back from a 2-for-10 shooting performance in the first half and scored 11 points after the break.

Sparks 74, Monarchs 66: At Los Angeles, Marta Fernandez scored a career-high 26 points, leading the Sparks to a victory over Sacramento.

Christi Thomas added 15 points and 11 rebounds for Los Angeles (7-6), which had lost four of five. Jessica Moore scored a season-high 10 points.

Nicole Powell had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Monarchs (10-5).

The Monarchs held a 17-10 lead when Fernandez scored seven points in 35 seconds to kick off a 17-5 run that put the Sparks ahead 27-22 with 5:29 left in the second quarter.