Tuesday's Women's National Basketball Association Capsules

Sep 24, 2008 - 4:10 AM By PA SportsTicker

DETROIT 80, INDIANA 61 ----------------------

AUBURN HILLS, Michigan (Ticker) -- If there was any doubt about the Detroit Shock's ability to play without forward Plenette Pierson, those concerns were forgotten after the first quarter.

Deanna Nolan scored 21 points and Katie Smith added 15 as the Shock got off to a quick start and advanced to the Eastern Conference finals for the third straight season with an 80-61 victory over the Indiana Fever in the decisive Game Three of their semifinal series.

Kara Braxton scored 12 points for Detroit, which will face the New York Liberty in Game One of the conference finals Friday at Madison Square Garden. The Liberty defeated the Connecticut Sun, 66-62, in Game Three of their semifinal series Monday.

The Shock, who improved to 11-0 at home against Eastern Conference opponents this season, took a commanding 30-7 lead after the first quarter and a 49-19 advantage at halftime.

All of that success came without Pierson, who is Detroit's rugged interior force. Nolan picked up the slack from the perimeter, shooting 9-of-19 from the field - including 2-of-5 from the arc.

After a demoralizing first half, Indiana outscored Detroit, 24-11, in the third quarter to cut its deficit to 17 entering the final period but could not make much more of a push.

Tammy Sutton-Brown scored 20 points for the Fever.

LOS ANGELES 71, SEATTLE 64 --------------------------

SEATTLE (Ticker) -- Despite a furious finish, the Los Angeles Sparks were able to send the Seattle Storm packing early once again.

Candace Parker scored 19 points and Lisa Leslie added 15 before fouling out in the final minutes as the Sparks advanced to the Western Conference finals with a 71-64 victory over the Storm in a decisive Game Three of their conference semifinal series.

Marie Ferdinand-Harris scored 12 points off the bench for Los Angeles, which won for the first time in KeyArena since June 30, 2006 to earn the right to play the San Antonio Silver Stars with a spot in the WNBA Finals on the line. Game One will be at the Staples Center on Thursday.

The 2004 WNBA champions, Seattle has been eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs in four straight seasons. The Storm lost for just the second time at home this season in this one.

Parker, who shot 8-of-13 from the field, led the Sparks to a 14-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter. The Storm made a run, cutting the deficit to three on four separate occasions in the fourth but could get no closer.

It looked even brighter for Seattle, which saw its deficit shrink to five when Leslie fouled out with 2:16 left. But it could not generate any more easy offense the rest of the way.

Tanisha Wright scored 20 points and Camille Little added 17 for the Storm, who played without former league MVP Lauren Jackson due to ankle surgery.