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Monarchs-Shock Preview

Jun 27, 2009 - 5:07 PM By MATT BECKER STATS Senior Writer

Sacramento (1-6) at Detroit (1-5), 6:00 p.m. EDT

This season could not have started much worse for the defending champion Detroit Shock. However, they have reason to believe it can get turned around.

After completing a season-opening suspension, center Kara Braxton is expected to make her 2009 debut Sunday when the Shock host the only team with a record worse than theirs - the Sacramento Monarchs.

Detroit (1-5) won its third WNBA title in a six-year span in 2008, but finds itself in an unfamiliar position - at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. The Shock have lost four in a row, the last three coming after Rick Mahorn took over as coach when Bill Laimbeer resigned to pursue an NBA job.

Making matters worse, Detroit announced Wednesday that top bench player Plenette Pierson will miss the rest of the season following shoulder surgery. She was the WNBA's Sixth Woman of the Year in 2007 and averaged career bests of 11.9 points and 1.2 blocks last season.

While Pierson's injury weakens Detroit's frontcourt, the team hopes to fill that void with Braxton's return.

One day before the Shock's season-opening 78-58 defeat to Los Angeles, the WNBA suspended Braxton for six games after she pleaded guilty to a drunk-driving charge during the offseason.

The 6-foot-6 center, an All-Star in 2007, was instrumental to Detroit's title run last season, averaging a career-high 8.9 points and 5.1 rebounds.

A year after winning seven of its first eight games en route to a third consecutive conference title, Detroit is off to its worst start since opening 2002 with 13 consecutive losses.

The Shock are coming off a 96-86 loss at Atlanta. Rookie Shavonte Zellous scored a career-high 25 points for Detroit, which shot 31.1 percent from the field and was outscored 34-18 in the paint.

"We didn't attack," Mahorn said. "It's frustrating because we weren't making shots and defensively we have to get stops."

Detroit could have better luck slowing down a Sacramento team that has been awful offensively through two contests of a five-game trip.

After shooting 25.8 percent in last Sunday's 67-47 loss to Los Angeles, the Monarchs (1-6) made 37.5 percent in Friday's 62-52 defeat at San Antonio.

"We missed a lot of shots. I can't believe we keep missing them," Sacramento coach Jenny Boucek said after her team's fourth straight loss. "We have a lot of players out of rhythm. That just takes time. You can't rush that process."

Boucek is hoping Ticha Penicheiro will feel more comfortable on the court after the 11-year veteran finished with eight points in 25 minutes off the bench against the Silver Stars. Penicheiro, who had 17 points in Sacramento's 88-85 win over Detroit on July 20, had missed the previous four games with a sprained right thumb.

The Monarchs and Shock split their two-game series last season with each team winning on the road.