WNBA ROUNDUP Wednesday's games

Shock 70, Fever 68
INDIANAPOLIS -- Deanna Nolan decided she didn't want to be embarrassed twice by the same team in a span of 10 days. So Nolan and her Detroit teammates found a way to forget a 31-point loss to Indiana. Nolan hit a 15-foot jumper as time expired. Nolan led the Shock (11-5) with a career-high 27 points. Swin Cash scored 14 points, and Cheryl Ford had 10 rebounds. "Obviously, we didn't want to come in here and give the same performance as the last time," Nolan said of an 85-54 loss at Indiana on July 6. "We fought the whole game, and even though we missed lots of free throws, this was a boost of confidence, to give Indiana their first home loss." The setback snapped the Fever's home winning streak at 13 games over two seasons. They were 8-0 at Conseco Fieldhouse this year. Tamika Catchings led the Fever (10-8) with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Natalie Williams scored 17 points. Catchings had given the Fever a 68-66 lead by hitting two free throws with 59.8 seconds to play, but fouled out on the Shock's next possession. Ruth Riley made both free throws to tie the score. Indiana still had an opportunity to win the game outright, controlling the ball with 20.8 seconds to go. But Natalie Williams, stationed at the top of the key, threw a pass out of bounds. "I saw Coquese [Washington] open and went to throw her the ball, and it slipped out of my hand," Williams said. "Bottom line: I should have shot it." After taking a timeout, the Shock wound the clock down, but Nolan missed a baseline drive, and Elaine Powell put up an airball from the left side. The ball caromed out of bounds and was ruled in Detroit's possession with one second remaining. With the Fever playing close inside attention to the 6-foot-3 Ford, Nolan cut around a screen, broke wide open and took the shot without hesitation. "That last play was really up to Ruth [Riley] to set a good pick," Nolan said. "All I had to do was just knock it down." The Fever lost starting guard Niele Ivey to a dislocated -- and possibly broken -- middle finger on her right hand when she fell hard to the floor after trying to block a shot with 5:47 remaining in the first half.
Lynx 85, Sliver Stars 78
MINNEAPOLIS -- Katie Smith scored 27 points as Minnesota beat San Antonio. Smith, who leads the league in scoring with 19.7 points a game, helped seal the win with four free throws in the final minute. Teresa Edwards had a WNBA career-high 15 points, along with seven rebounds and seven assists for the Lynx (10-8). Adrienne Goodson, Margo Dydek and Marie Ferdinand scored 18 points each for San Antonio. Minnesota took a 40-31 lead at halftime, and six Lynx players had at least five points at the break. But the pace slowed considerably, and the Silver Stars (6-12) came back from a 13-point second-half deficit to tie the game at 59 with just over six minutes remaining. Edwards and Smith responded, combining for 12 points over the next five minutes to push Minnesota's lead back up to 77-69.
-- Associated Press