Red-hot Cash scores 24 points as Shock rolls past Cleveland

Bumps and bruises couldn't stop Detroit's leading scorer.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Swin Cash played so well, she forgot all about the pain.
The hot-shooting Cash scored 24 points to lead the rampaging Detroit Shock to a 77-65 victory Tuesday night over the Cleveland Rockers.
"I was feeling a little sore," Cash said. "I had a couple bumps and bruises, but I was able to fight through it. Once you get warmed up, you don't feel any pain."
Cash hit her first six shots of the second half -- and 11-of-16 overall -- to help the Shock turn a 40-35 halftime lead into a 69-51 advantage. Kedra Holland-Corn added a season-high 17 points.
Detroit won for the sixth time in seven games to open a 31/2-game lead over Charlotte in the Eastern Conference.
Falling back
Penny Taylor scored 17 points to lead Cleveland, which fell two games behind fourth-place Connecticut for the fourth and final playoff berth in the conference.
Rockers coach Dan Hughes closed the locker room for 37 minutes after the game.
"We didn't play particularly well and I have to take responsibility for that," Hughes said. "I wanted to listen to what our players had to say, reflect on it for a couple days and find some direction."
Shock coach Bill Laimbeer had no such worries.
"Never in this game did we think they were ever going to win the basketball game," he said. "And I think everybody in the gym felt the same way."
Inside moves
Cash overcame a sore foot to use a variety of inside moves and lead Detroit in scoring for the 12th time this season.
The Rockers never seemed to get warm, shooting 37 percent from the field. Betty Lennox went 1-for-8, Deanna Jackson 1-for-7 and Chasity Melvin 3-for-11 for Cleveland.
"We missed shots, but the key was we didn't defend," Melvin said. "If you don't make shots, do something else good. You can't have two bad things going on."
Detroit shot 57 percent from the field.
Cash and Holland-Corn led the Shock on a 25-9 run that put Detroit ahead 40-29.
Melvin, who finished with 13 points, closed the first half with five consecutive points for Cleveland.
Cash scored 12 points and Holland-Corn added eight in a 10-minute span of the second half to help Detroit to a 67-51 lead. Two days earlier, Cash made 10 of 14 shots in an 81-71 win over Washington.
Detroit leads the all-time series with Cleveland 11-9 after taking three meetings this season.
The Shock are one victory shy of matching the franchise record of 17 set in 1998. Detroit went 17-13 then and has not finished at or above .500 since.