Former teammates Taurasi, Cash face off for WNBA title

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Diana Taurasi and Swin Cash have won three championships together.

Today, one of them will add another.

The college and Olympic teammates will face each other in Game 5 of the WNBA finals. Cash and the Detroit Shock will be going for their third title in five seasons. Taurasi’s Phoenix Mercury are looking for their first.

“We really have to be focused because their house is going to be crowded, and their players are going to be extra energized,” Taurasi said. “We have to find a way to match that.”

When Cash and Taurasi were winning a pair of NCAA titles at Connecticut and gold medals in Athens, they shared the spotlight. But things have been different in the finals. While Taurasi remains the Mercury’s focal point, Cash’s role with the Shock has become more symbolic than important.

Cash starts every game for the Shock and remains the captain and unquestioned face of the franchise, but she is rarely on the floor in key situations. Today, though, Detroit coach Bill Laimbeer might have to give Cash more leeway, because he probably won’t have Cheryl Ford. The All-Star Game MVP is expected to miss the game after teammate Deanna Nolan fell on her bad knee in Game 4.

The Shock have dominated the boards against Phoenix, but the Mercury don’t plan to change their run-and-gun system.

“My team is going to come out shooting and firing and making baskets,” Phoenix coach Paul Westhead said. “This is the fitting cap to the season, and we’d play this game anywhere. We’re going in expecting to win a championship.”