Detroit Shock Win Women's National Basketball Association Championship

DETROIT SHOCK WIN WOMEN'S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION CHAMPIONSHIP

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, last night the Detroit Shock won the Women's National Basketball Association Championship, defeating the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Sparks 83-78. This tremendous accomplishment is all the more special because the Shock rose from the worst record in the league last year to champions this year.

Over the course of this year's season, the Shock won a league-best 25 games, a year after losing a league-worst 23 games.
The Shock's victory is also the first time in the WNBA's 7-year history that neither Houston nor Los Angeles won the championship.

The enthusiasm and support for the Shock by the people of Detroit and Michigan was clearly demonstrated by the fact that last night's game was attended by a WNBA record crowd of over 22,000 people.

The Shock completed their incredible run from last to first with the leadership of Coach Bill Laimbeer, finals Most Valuable Player Ruth Riley's career-high 27-point performance, as well as the strong play of Swin Cash, who finished with 13 points, 12 rebounds, and 9 assists. These performances were supported by Deanna Nolan's 17 points, and Rookie of the Year Cheryl Ford's 10 points and 11 rebounds.

It was a tremendously exciting game throughout. The Los Angeles Sparks erased a 14-point deficit in the first half, and an 11-point deficit in the second half, and even had a 3-point lead with less than 4 minutes to go. But with less than a minute left, Deanna Nolan, from Flint, MI, secured the Shock's lead when she hit a 3-point shot to give them a 75-73 lead. Then Cheryl Ford hit 2 free throws, and it was a 4-point game with 43 seconds remaining. In the end, the Shock were victorious in what was the highest-scoring WNBA finals game in history.

The 2003 WNBA champion Detroit Shock will celebrate its first-ever WNBA championship with fans tonight at The Palace of Auburn Hills. This is Detroit's first professional basketball championship since our Pistons won back-to-back championships in 1988 and 1989. Shock Head Coach Bill Laimbeer was actually cocaptain of those Pistons teams, and in 1988 it was the Los Angeles Lakers—the Los Angeles Sparks' NBA counterparts—that Detroit defeated to win the championship.

I know our colleagues will join me and Senator Stabenow in congratulating the Detroit Shock on their championship and looking forward to their drive to repeat next year.

Mr. President, it is also my fervent hope that the Shock's worst-to-first season will be an inspiration to the Detroit Tigers next year.

I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum