2008 Detroit Shock season

The 2008 WNBA season was the 11th for the Detroit Shock, an American women's professional basketball team. The Shock attempted to return to the WNBA Finals for the third consecutive year. They won the WNBA Finals for the third time in franchise history. During the finals, Katie Smith averaged a team high 21.7 points per game to be named WNBA Finals MVP.[1] Similar to Kevin Garnett with the 2008 Boston Celtics, Taj McWilliams-Franklin won her first championship after 10 years in the league.[2]

2008 Detroit Shock season
Coach	Bill Laimbeer
Arena	The Palace of Auburn Hills
Attendance	9,569 per game
Results
Record	22–12 (.647)
Place	1st (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Won WNBA Finals
Team Leaders
Points	Deanna Nolan (15.8)
Rebounds	Cheryl Ford (8.7)
Assists	Deanna Nolan (4.4)
← 2007 season 2009 season →

Offseason

The following player was lost in the Atlanta Dream expansion draft:

• Katie Feenstra

[3]

WNBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/Team/Country
1	4 (from Atl. via Sea.)	Alexis Hornbuckle	United States	Tennessee
	11 (from SA)	Tasha Humphrey	United States	Georgia
2	18 (from Atl.)	Olayinka Sanni	United States	West Virginia
3	42	Valeriya Berezhynska	United States	Rice

Transactions

• September 4: The Shock signed Ashley Shields.
• August 19: The Shock signed Ashley Shields to a seven-day contract.
• August 12: The Shock traded Tasha Humphrey, Eshaya Murphy and a second-round pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft to the Washington Mystics for Taj McWilliams-Franklin.
• August 8: The Shock waived Stacey Lovelace.
• July 26: The Shock signed Kelly Schumacher.
• July 25: The Shock waived Nancy Lieberman.
• July 24: The Shock signed Nancy Lieberman to a seven-day contract.
• July 11: The Shock signed Stacey Lovelace.
• June 27: The Shock waived Chrissy Givens.
• June 22: The Shock traded LaToya Thomas to the Minnesota Lynx for Eshaya Murphy.
• June 18: The Shock waived Wanisha Smith and signed Chrissy Givens.
• May 15: The Shock waived Michelle Campbell and Wanisha Smith.
• May 8: The Shock signed Wanisha Smith to a training camp contract.
• May 7: The Shock signed free agent Sheri Sam.
• May 5: The Shock waived Valeriya Berezhynska, Natasha Lacy and Tyresa Smith.
• April 26: The Shock waived Chakhia Cole, Fantasia Goodwin and Samantha Mahoney.
• April 18: The Shock waived Nina Norman.
• April 17: The Shock signed Samantha Mahoney to a training camp contract.
• April 16: The Shock signed Chakhia Cole to a training camp contract.
• March 31: The Shock signed Elaine Powell to a training camp contract.
• March 10: The Shock re-signed free agents Cheryl Ford, Deanna Nolan and Katie Smith.
• March 4: The Shock signed Tyresa Smith and Michelle Campbell to training camp contracts.
• February 29: The Shock signed Nina Norman to a training camp contract.
• February 28: The Shock re-signed free agent Plenette Pierson and signed Chrissy Givens to a training camp contract.
• February 19: The Shock traded Swin Cash to the Seattle Storm in exchange for the 4th pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft.
• February 6: The Shock traded Ivory Latta to the Atlanta Dream in exchange for LaToya Thomas and the 18th pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft.

[4]

Trades

Date	Trade
February 6, 2008	To Detroit Shock	To Atlanta Dream
	LaToya Thomas and the 18th pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft	Ivory Latta
February 19, 2008	To Detroit Shock	To Seattle Storm
	The 4th pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft	Swin Cash
June 22, 2008	To Detroit Shock	To Minnesota Lynx
	Eshaya Murphy	LaToya Thomas
August 12, 2008	To Detroit Shock	To Washington Mystics
	Taj McWilliams-Franklin	Tasha Humphrey, Eshaya Murphy, and a second-round pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft

Free agents

Additions Player Signed Former team Plenette Pierson February 28, 2008 re-signed Cheryl Ford March 10, 2008 re-signed Deanna Nolan March 10, 2008 re-signed Katie Smith March 10, 2008 re-signed Elaine Powell March 31, 2008 re-signed Sheri Sam May 7, 2008 Indiana Fever Kelly Schumacher July 26, 2008 Phoenix Mercury Taj McWilliams-Franklin August 12, 2008 Washington Mystics Ashley Shields August 19, 2008 Houston Comets

Subtractions Player Left New team Katie Feenstra February 6, 2008 Atlanta Dream Ivory Latta February 6, 2008 Atlanta Dream Swin Cash February 19, 2008 Seattle Storm Shannon Johnson March 7, 2008 Houston Comets Tyresa Smith May 5, 2008 free agent Tasha Humphrey August 12, 2008 Washington Mystics Tausha Mills 2008 free agent Ayana Walker 2008 free agent

Season Highlights

The Shock season opener resulted in a record-breaking debut for rookie guard Alexis Hornbuckle. Hornbuckle set a Shock record with seven steals to help the Shock beat the Houston Comets on May 17. Deanna Nolan scored a franchise-record 44 points (28 in the fourth quarter and overtime) in a 98-93 victory over the Minnesota Lynx on June 20.

Malice at the Palace

Main article: Sparks–Shock brawl

• The Sparks–Shock brawl (also known as The Malice at the Palace II) was an altercation that occurred in a game between the Detroit Shock and Los Angeles Sparks on July 21, 2008 at The Palace of Auburn Hills. With 4.2 seconds before the game was officially over, the fighting began on the court after Plenette Pierson made a hard block out after a free throw on Candace Parker. This was the second brawl to occur at the Palace, the other being the Pacers–Pistons brawl.

Nancy Lieberman

In July, the Detroit Shock signed Nancy Lieberman to a 7-day contract. The 50-year-old Lieberman broke her own record for being the oldest player in the WNBA.[5] Lieberman, a Hall of Famer since 1999, was 39 years old when she played with Phoenix during the league's first year in 1997.

The 50-year-old Lieberman played nine minutes and had two assists.[6] One of the assists included a no-look pass in the closing minutes of the Detroit Shock's 79-61 loss to the Houston Comets on July 24.

Lieberman made a one-time only appearance in the Shock's first game due to a bench-clearing melee with the Los Angeles Sparks on July 22. Five Shock players were suspended and Cheryl Ford suffered a season-ending injury, prompting coach Bill Laimbeer to offer Lieberman a seven-day contract.

Roster

Detroit Shock roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From C 45 Braxton, Kara 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Georgia PF 35 Ford, Cheryl  6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 198 lb (90 kg) Louisiana Tech SG 22 Hornbuckle, Alexis 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 155 lb (70 kg) Tennessee PF 44 McWilliams-Franklin, Taj 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 184 lb (83 kg) St. Edward's University SG 14 Nolan, Deanna (C) 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 144 lb (65 kg) Georgia SF 23 Pierson, Plenette 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 181 lb (82 kg) Texas Tech PG 5 Powell, Elaine 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 150 lb (68 kg) LSU G/F 55 Sam, Sheri 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Vanderbilt C 24 Sanni, Olayinka 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) West Virginia C 11 Schumacher, Kelly 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 183 lb (83 kg) Connecticut SG 3 Shields, Ashley 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 155 lb (70 kg) Southwest Tennessee Community College G/F 30 Smith, Katie (C) 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 174 lb (79 kg) Ohio State	Head coach Bill Laimbeer (Notre Dame) Assistant coaches Rick Mahorn (Hampton) Cheryl Reeve (La Salle) Athletic trainer Laura Ramus (Wayne State University) Strength and conditioning coach Laura Ramus (Wayne State University) Legend (C) Team captain (FA) Free agent (IN) Inactive (S) Suspended Injured

Season standings

Eastern Conference	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Conf.
Detroit Shock ^x	22	12	.647	–	14–3	8–9	16–4
Connecticut Sun ^x	21	13	.618	1.0	13–4	8–9	13–7
New York Liberty ^x	19	15	.559	3.0	11–6	8–9	11–9
Indiana Fever ^x	17	17	.500	5.0	11–6	6–11	12–8
Chicago Sky ^o	12	22	.353	10.0	8–9	4–13	10–10
Washington Mystics ^o	10	24	.294	12.0	6–11	4–13	6–14
Atlanta Dream ^o	4	30	.118	18.0	1–16	3–14	2–18

Schedule

Regular season

2008 Game Log: Regular Season
May Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 1 May 17 Houston 85-66 Smith (21) Ford (11) Ford (4) Palace of Auburn Hills 13,824 1-0 2 May 18 @ Minnesota 70-84 Smith (17) Ford (9) Nolan (6) Target Center 9,972 1-1 3 May 21 Indiana 76-71 Braxton (22) Ford (10) Nolan (8) Palace of Auburn Hills 6,842 2-1 4 May 23 @ Atlanta 88-76 Nolan (33) Ford (13) Nolan (8) Philips Arena 11,609 3-1 5 May 25 New York 72-62 Pierson (25) Braxton, Powell (7) Nolan (7) Palace of Auburn Hills 8,068 4-1 6 May 31 @ Indiana 74-65 Smith (19) Ford (8) Nolan, Powell (3) Conseco Fieldhouse 9,219 5-1
June Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 7 June 4 Seattle 77-67 Smith (33) Ford (11) Nolan (8) Palace of Auburn Hills 8,108 6-1 8 June 6 @ Sacramento 84-70 Smith (30) Braxton, Ford, Nolan (6) Nolan (9) ARCO Arena 6,663 7-1 9 June 7 @ Seattle 67-75 Smith (18) Pierson (10) Hornbuckle, Pierson (3) KeyArena 7,105 7-2 10 June 11 @ Los Angeles 73-80 Smith (16) Pierson, Smith (7) Smith (4) STAPLES Center 8,520 7-3 11 June 14 @ Phoenix 89-79 Humphrey (28) Hornbuckle (15) Nolan (8) US Airways Center 7,696 8-3 12 June 20 Minnesota 98-93 (OT) Nolan (44) Ford (14) Pierson (4) Palace of Auburn Hills 8,916 9-3 13 June 22 @ Atlanta 97-76 Ford (20) Ford (12) Nolan (7) Philips Arena 7,865 10-3 14 June 24 @ Connecticut 68-85 Nolan (17) Ford (11) Smith (4) Mohegan Sun Arena 7,501 10-4 15 June 26 Connecticut 70-61 Nolan (13) Ford (9) Smith (4) Palace of Auburn Hills 8,636 11-4 16 June 28 @ Chicago 59-76 Murphy (13) Ford (8) Hornbuckle, Sam (4) UIC Pavilion 3,407 11-5 17 June 29 Atlanta 100-92 Braxton (26) Braxton (9) Nolan (11) Palace of Auburn Hills 8,798 12-5
July Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 18 July 1 @ San Antonio 72-79 (OT) Smith (17) Ford, Sam (8) Smith (9) AT&T Center 5,656 12-6 19 July 8 Connecticut 88-82 Pierson (23) Braxton (8) Nolan (8) Palace of Auburn Hills 7,623 13-6 20 July 11 Washington 79-66 Smith (23) Braxton, Ford (7) Nolan (4) Palace of Auburn Hills 8,596 14-6 21 July 12 @ New York 64-74 Smith, Pierson (13) Ford (12) Nolan (4) Madison Square Garden 8,661 14-7 22 July 16 Chicago 66-63 Ford (14) Pierson (8) Nolan, Smith (4) Palace of Auburn Hills 15,210 15-7 23 July 18 @ Washington 99-62 Nolan (26) Braxton, Hornbuckle (6) Sam (8) Verizon Center 6,834 16-7 24 July 20 Sacramento 85-88 Nolan (27) Ford (10) Smith (6) Palace of Auburn Hills 9,138 16-8 25 July 22 Los Angeles 81-84 Smith (20) Ford (9) Hornbuckle, Smith (5) Palace of Auburn Hills 12,930 16-9 26 July 24 @ Houston 61-79 Nolan (23) Nolan, Sam (9) Nolan (4) Reliant Arena 7,261 16-10 27 July 27 San Antonio 64-76 Nolan (25) Braxton (9) Smith (6) Palace of Auburn Hills 9,537 16-11
August Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record Summer Olympic break 28 August 29 New York 83-69 Nolan (26) Braxton, McWilliams-Franklin (7) Smith (6) Palace of Auburn Hills 11,516 17-11 29 August 31 @ Chicago 81-82 (OT) Smith (23) McWilliams-Franklin (11) Nolan (6) UIC Pavilion 4,197 17-12
September Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 30 September 5 Indiana 90-68 Pierson (20) Pierson (6) McWilliams-Franklin, Pierson (4) Palace of Auburn Hills 9,287 18-12 31 September 6 @ Washington 84-69 McWilliams-Franklin (21) Nolan (10) Smith (8) Verizon Center 9,976 19-12 32 September 9 Phoenix 89-78 Nolan (18) Braxton, Hornbuckle, McWilliams-Franklin (8) Pierson, Smith (5) Palace of Auburn Hills 7,495 20-12 33 September 11 Washington 78-66 Nolan (17) McWilliams-Franklin (8) Smith (6) Palace of Auburn Hills 8,145 21-12 34 September 14 @ New York 61-59 Nolan, Pierson (11) Hornbuckle, Nolan (7) Powell (4) Madison Square Garden 10,042 22-12

Postseason

2008 Game Log: Postseason
Eastern Conference Semifinals Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Series 1 September 19 @ Indiana 81-72 Nolan (22) Braxton, McWilliams-Franklin (7) Powell, Smith (3) Conseco Fieldhouse 7,613 1-0 2 September 21 Indiana 82-89 Nolan, Pierson (16) Pierson, Powell (7) Pierson (5) Palace of Auburn Hills 8,219 1-1 3 September 23 Indiana 80-61 Nolan (21) Hornbuckle (8) Hornbuckle, McWilliams-Franklin (4) Palace of Auburn Hills 8,296 2-1
Eastern Conference Finals Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Series 1 September 26 @ New York 56-60 Nolan (22) Hornbuckle, McWilliams-Franklin (7) 4 players (2) Madison Square Garden 14,711 1-0 2 September 28 New York 64-55 Nolan (22) Taj McWilliams-Franklin (11) 4 players (2) EMU Convocation Center 7,965 1-1 3 September 29 New York 75-73 Nolan (21) Taj McWilliams-Franklin (8) Nolan, Smith (3) EMU Convocation Center 7,429 2-1
WNBA Finals Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Series 1 October 1 @ San Antonio 77-69 Smith (25) Smith (9) Nolan (4) AT&T Center 9,380 1-0 2 October 3 @ San Antonio 69-61 Smith (22) Nolan (7) Smith (6) AT&T Center 16,012 2-0 3 October 5 San Antonio 76-60 Smith (18) Braxton, Hornbuckle (9) Hornbuckle, Nolan (5) EMU Convocation Center 8,952 3-0

Player stats

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game	RPG	Rebounds per game
APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game	BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage	TO	Turnovers per game
PF	Fouls per game		Team leader		League leader

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Deanna Nolan	34	34	33.6	.465	.374	.863	3.9	4.4	1.2	0.3	15.8
Katie Smith	34	34	33.9	.383	.360	.887	2.8	4.0	0.9	0.1	14.7
Plenette Pierson	28	0	23.2	.457	.000	.752	4.9	2.3	0.9	1.2	11.9
Taj McWilliams-Franklin	7	7	26.2	.422	1.000	.909	6.7	1.9	0.4	0.7	10.7
Cheryl Ford	24	24	26.5	.481	.000	.560	8.7	0.9	1.0	0.4	10.1
Kara Braxton	33	10	17.9	.415	.000	.743	5.1	0.8	0.4	0.7	8.9
Tasha Humphrey	22	16	13.5	.500	.385	.955	2.9	1.0	0.6	0.3	7.3
Alexis Hornbuckle	34	0	22.0	.354	.356	.636	4.1	2.1	2.3	0.3	5.4
Elaine Powell	16	16	19.6	.490	.500	.750	3.1	2.2	0.4	0.7	3.6
Olayinka Sanni	31	9	10.5	.500	.000	.649	2.1	0.2	0.4	0.2	3.4
Ashley Shields	7	0	6.3	.364	.333	.750	0.4	0.3	0.1	0.0	3.1
Sheri Sam	32	15	14.9	.309	.286	.692	2.8	1.2	0.6	0.1	2.9
Eshaya Murphy	13	3	9.4	.300	.263	.667	1.6	0.5	0.5	0.2	2.5
Kelly Schumacher	7	0	12.7	.375	.000	1.000	2.9	0.7	0.3	0.4	2.0
Stacey Lovelace	7	2	6.3	.286	.400	.667	1.0	0.1	0.1	0.0	1.4
LaToya Thomas	7	0	5.7	.267	.000	.000	0.7	0.1	0.1	0.1	1.1
Chrissy Givens	3	0	3.3	.000	.000	1.000	0.0	0.7	0.0	0.0	0.7
Wanisha Smith	1	0	0.0	.000	.000	.000	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Nancy Lieberman	1	0	9.0	.000	.000	.000	0.0	2.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

Detroit Shock Regular Season Stats

Postseason

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Deanna Nolan	9	9	38.8	.359	.341	.939	4.6	2.9	2.1	0.3	17.6
Katie Smith	9	9	34.3	.410	.354	.758	4.0	2.4	0.4	0.1	15.3
Taj McWilliams-Franklin	9	9	32.6	.490	.500	.864	7.0	2.1	1.0	1.3	12.9
Kara Braxton	9	9	20.0	.500	.000	.650	5.3	1.0	0.4	0.6	8.6
Plenette Pierson	6	0	17.8	.474	.000	.846	3.0	1.7	0.7	0.3	7.8
Alexis Hornbuckle	9	0	24.4	.429	.375	.750	4.9	2.1	1.2	0.8	6.3
Elaine Powell	9	9	19.0	.588	.000	.818	2.3	2.0	0.7	0.0	3.2
Olayinka Sanni	9	0	7.3	.438	.000	.500	1.8	0.3	0.3	0.0	1.8
Kelly Schumacher	8	0	11.9	.438	.000	.000	3.0	0.4	0.1	0.4	1.8
Sheri Sam	6	0	5.0	.286	.000	1.000	0.5	0.0	0.2	0.0	1.0
Ashley Shields	3	0	1.3	.200	.000	.000	0.0	0.3	0.3	0.0	0.7

Detroit Shock Playoff Stats

Awards and honors

• Katie Smith, WNBA Player of the Week (June 2–8)
• Deanna Nolan, WNBA Player of the Week (June 16–22 and July 14–20)
• Deanna Nolan, All-WNBA Defensive Second Team
• Katie Smith, All-WNBA Defensive Second Team
• Deanna Nolan, All-WNBA Second Team
• Katie Smith, WNBA Finals MVP

References

1. Smith's Sheer Dominance Earns Her MVP Honors
2. "My Kevin Garnett Moment in WNBA Blogs in Fan Voice". Archived from the original on 2009-09-05. Retrieved 2009-08-24.
3. "WNBA.com: Atlanta Dream Expansion Draft". Archived from the original on 2009-08-20. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
4. http://www.wnba.com/transactions/WNBA_2008.html 2008 WNBA Transactions. Accessed 2009-08-07. Archived 2009-08-11.
5. "Nancy Lieberman to play in WNBA at age of 50". Archived from the original on 2008-10-12. Retrieved 2008-10-12.
6. Lieberman's Shows Flash of Past in Shock Loss

External links