Detroit 70, Connecticut 61

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., June 26 (AP) -- Deanna Nolan scored 13 points to lead a balanced Detroit Shock offense in a 70-61 victory over the Connecticut Sun on Thursday night.

Detroit (11-4) used an 11-1 third-quarter scoring run to build a commanding lead after Connecticut trimmed the Shock's lead to five.

Nolan's 3-point field goal with 3:44 remaining in the quarter gave the Shock a 50-37 lead before Cheryl Ford closed out the run off an offensive putback. Ford was one of three Shock players to score 10 points while Kara Braxton added 11.

Asjha Jones led the Sun (11-4) with 14 points.

Plenette Pierson, who scored 11 points in helping the Shock build its lead, left the game in the third quarter with a right knee strain.

Detroit, which rebounded from a lopsided loss to the Sun in Connecticut on Tuesday, led 37-27 at halftime after scoring 15 unanswered points to finish the first quarter and begin the second.

Douglas scores 23 as Fever rout Sun 75-46

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP)—Katie Douglas scored 23 points in her return to Connecticut, leading the Indiana Fever to a 75-46 win over the Sun on Tuesday night.

Douglas, who played five seasons in Connecticut, was traded to Indiana for Tamika Whitmore during the offseason.

She scored 14 of her points in the first half when the Fever (2-1) took a double-digit lead it never gave up. Tan White added 15 points for the Fever.

Lindsay Whalen led the Sun (3-1) with 13 points.

Connecticut trailed by 22 points at halftime and got as close as 16 early in the third quarter at 48-32. But Indiana outscored Connecticut 14-7 the rest of the way and had a 62-39 lead entering the fourth period.

Douglas hit a 3-pointer early in the fourth period and later a pair of free throws that gave Indiana its largest lead at 75-44.

It was the lowest point total for the Sun franchise since Aug 1, 2003, when they scored 45 points in a 48-45 loss to Washington. Connecticut’s seven-point output in the fourth was a franchise record low.

Whitmore leads Sun to win over Dream

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP)—Tamika Whitmore had 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Connecticut Sun to a 100-67 victory over the expansion Atlanta Dream on Saturday in the season opener for both teams.

Asjha Jones added 18 points, Barbara Turner 15 and Lindsay Whalen 11 for the Sun, who scored 100 points in regulation for the second time in franchise history

Betty Lennox led Atlanta with 17 points, Stacey Lovelace had 11 and Katie Feenstra 10.

The Sun led 51-34 at halftime and didn’t let the Dream get closer than 14 points in the second half.

Atlanta led 17-12 before Connecticut used a 26-6 run to take over early in the game.

The Sun added nine new players in the offseason, following their first-round playoff exit last season. Whitmore made her debut with the Sun after being traded from Indiana in the offseason for All-Star Katie Douglas.