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Sun-Shock Preview

Aug 2, 2009 - 4:10 AM By KATE HEDLIN STATS Writer

Connecticut (9-8) at Detroit (6-9), 6:00 p.m. EDT

The Detroit Shock ended July on a high note after a tough start to the season. An even better sign for August was their two star players having one of their better games of the season.

Deanna Nolan and Cheryl Ford try to lift the Shock to their fifth win in seven games as they host the Connecticut Sun on Sunday.

Nolan and Ford led the Shock (6-9) to their third WNBA title in six years in 2008, but both have had trouble staying healthy this season and Detroit has remained near the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

Nolan, who averaged a team-high 15.8 points last year, has been bothered by several nagging injuries and Ford has been limited to 10 games following offseason knee surgery.

Nolan, though, had 22 points and six assists in Detroit's 91-83 victory over Minnesota on Friday - its fourth win in six games. Ford, who missed the previous two contests, played 26 minutes and finished with 12 points and nine rebounds.

"The knee is feeling really good," Ford told the Shock's official Web site. "It just felt great to be out there. One of the things was when we went on our (All-Star) break to try to come back with our little nagging injuries fixed."

The Shock are second-to-last in the East, but remain optimistic about making a run to the postseason.

"There's still 19 games left," said Nolan, who finished with her most points since scoring a season-high 27 against Los Angeles on June 8. "There's plenty of time for us to get on a roll and start playing the kind of basketball that's going to make us a playoff team."

The Shock have split two games with the Sun this season - both went to overtime - but Detroit has won 10 of the last 13 meetings overall. Shock forward Katie Smith has averaged 26.5 points against Connecticut this year.

The Sun (9-9) have lost three in a row, including the first two on a four-game road trip.

Tan White had a team-high 16 points but Asjha Jones was the only starter to score in double figures with 10 as the Sun lost 84-72 to Chicago on Saturday.

Connecticut led by six early in the second quarter before the Sky went on a 26-0 run that ended with 59 seconds remaining in the first half.

"I've never seen a run like that against us in the seven years I've been coaching this team," Sun coach Mike Thibault said. "We tried different things, we didn't have it. We turned the ball over during that time. We were missing shots. We did everything you could possibly do wrong for 6 minutes."

Thibault's team has given up 91.0 points per game in its last three contests after allowing an average of 67.8 during a four-game winning streak.