Janice Braxton scored 17 points and Eva Nemcova added 16 as the Cleveland Rockers held off the Detroit Shock 68-66 in the WNBA on Saturday.
Braxton was 6-of-7 in the first half in scoring 14 points as Cleveland built a 19-5 lead on the way to a 43-35 halftime edge.Detroit, winless in four games, rode a 17-1 run to a 53-48 lead with 10 minutes to go. Cindy Brown's jumper completed the surge.
Cleveland (3-1) answered with a 12-0 burst, including Nemcova's layup and 3-pointer that made it 60-53 with 7:14 left.
Detroit cut it to 66-65 with 12.4 seconds remaining on Sandy Bron-del-lo's free throw. Merlakia Jones and McConnell Serio each hit free throws to increase Cleveland's lead to 68-65.
Detroit's Gergana Branzova went to the free throw line with 2.9 seconds to go and made the first. She missed the second, but teammate Carla Porter got the rebound. However, she was unable to get off a shot before time expired.
Korie Hlede lead the Shock with 19 points, 15 in the first half.
COMETS 79, MONARCHS 68: At Sacramento, Calif., Cynthia Cooper scored 18 of her 22 points in the first half as the unbeaten Houston Comets won their fourth straight game, defeating the Sacramento Monarchs.
The defending WNBA champion Comets broke open a close game with an 18-3 stretch late in the first half. Sheryl Swoopes scored six points in the run as the Comets took a 40-25 lead.