Shock Stops Leslie and Sparks

Swin Cash scored 18 points, Cheryl Ford added 13 points and 11 rebounds, and the Detroit Shock ended the Sparks’ six-game winning streak with a 73-59 victory Friday night.

The Shock (15-7) led by as many as 18 points in the first half and avenged an 86-78 loss at Los Angeles in June. The Sparks (19-6) were starting an eight-game trip.

A crowd of 8,174 watched the first WNBA game played here at Van Andel Arena.

Lisa Leslie, the All-Star center who entered the game averaging 20.9 points, had 10 points and scored her only field goal of the second half midway through the fourth quarter to cut Detroit’s lead to 55-52. The Shock limited the Sparks to seven points the rest of the way.

“I thought our defensive game plan was pretty solid, especially when it came to Lisa Leslie,” Detroit Coach Bill Laimbeer said. “I thought our guards did a great job of taking away some of her shots, and that’s a big key.”

Cash’s layup with slightly more than a minute to play gave the Shock a 69-56 lead. Cash also scored nine points in the first quarter to help put the Shock ahead, 23-10.

“I could tell in the shoot-around that we were focused and ready to play,” Ford said. “I just knew we were going to come out and have a good game. We knew our defensive strategy, and it worked well.”

Detroit led, 32-14, early in the second quarter before Leslie came back with six points to help the Sparks cut the Shock’s lead to 38-29 at halftime.

“They’re a real good team,” Sparks Coach Joe Bryant said. “They were the preseason favorite to win it all. They played very physical with us tonight. They did what they had to do.”

Detroit shot 52% in the first half while the Sparks shot 33%.

“Early in the first half, we missed a couple of easy buckets,” Bryant said. “I told our players we missed four layups, and that’s like eight points. That makes a difference.”

Off the bench, Chamique Holdsclaw led the Sparks with 20 points and six rebounds, and Muriel Page added 10 points. Leslie grabbed 11 rebounds. The Sparks’ starters accounted for only 27 points.

Deanna Nolan had 13 points and six assists for Detroit.