SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Yolanda Griffith scored 17 points, Rebekkah Brunson added 14, and the Sacramento Monarchs advanced to the WNBA Western Conference finals with a 92-64 victory over the Houston Comets on Saturday in Game 2 of their first-round series.
Ticha Penicheiro had seven assists and hit two 3-pointers for the defending WNBA-champion Monarchs, who won Game 1 of the best-of-three series in Houston before rolling into the conference finals for the fourth straight season.
The Comets managed just 29 points in the second half on 11-of-29 shooting, never getting within 10 points of the Monarchs.
Nicole Powell, DeMya Walker and Kara Lawson had 10 points apiece for Sacramento, which set a franchise playoff record with 24 assists and committed just six turnovers, tying another postseason best.
Michelle Snow scored 16 points and Tina Thompson added 14 and reigning MVP Sheryl Swoopes 12. The loss ended the career of Comets guard Dawn Staley, who announced her retirement as a player earlier during her fifth All-Star season.
SHOCK 98, FEVER 83: At Auburn Hills, Mich., Cheryl Ford had 23 points and 10 rebounds to help the Detroit Shock overcome a playoff-record 41 points from Tamika Whitmore and eliminate the Indiana Fever in Game 2 of their first-round series.
Detroit, which fell five points short of Los Angeles' league record for points in a playoff game, advances to the second round for the first time since winning the 2003 league title.
Whitmore broke Lisa Leslie's postseason scoring record of 35 points, set in 2001 against Sacramento. She was 15-of-25 from the floor and 10-for-10 from the line before fouling out with 30 seconds left.
Indiana lost All-Star Tamika Catchings for much of the second half after she hit her head on the floor while battling Plenette Pierson for a loose ball. Catchings returned midway through the final period, but turned the ball over the first time she touched it and finished with just 11 points on 4-of-15 shooting.