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Nolan, Pierson lead Shock past Lynx

May 23, 2007 - 2:11 AM AUBURN HILLS, Michigan (Ticker) -- A perfect second quarter by Deanna Nolan provided excellent dividends for the Detroit Shock.

Nolan scored 19 points and reserve Plenette Pierson added 13 on 6-of-6 shooting as the Shock defeated the Minnesota Lynx, 85-75, on Tuesday, sending them to their third straight loss.

Cheryl Ford had 15 points, six rebounds and six steals and Swin Cash scored 11 for Detroit, which has won three straight vs. Minnesota and five of seven all-time here.

With the score tied at 23-23 entering the second quarter, Nolan scored eight points on 4-of-4 shooting, including a 3-pointer to help Detroit take a 48-40 halftime lead.

Nolan, the MVP of the 2006 WNBA Finals, also handed out two assists in the period for the Shock, who entered the quarter shooting just 36 percent but went 10-of-16 and finished at 51 percent (30-of-59) overall.

Pierson also had eight points in the quarter, finishing with her second strong game. Pierson had 22 points, eight rebounds and four assists off the bench to lead the Shock to a 75-68 opening season victory over the Sacramento Monarchs on Saturday in a rematch of last year's finals.

Detroit opened the third quarter on a 10-4 run to make it 58-44 with 5:05 left, then added an 11-0 burst with 54 seconds left in the period to extend the lead to 69-50. Cash had six points in the second run.

Seimone Augustus, last season's Rookie of the Year, scored 19 points for the Lynx, who are 0-3 from the second straight year, having been outscored in those contests by an average of 13.0 points.

Nicole Ohlde and reserve Amber Jacobs each scored 14 points for Minnesota, which shot 41 percent (21-of-49).