|
|
 |
 |
|
| |
Sunday, Aug. 6 4:00pm ET
Miracle earn first playoff trip | |||||
|
| ||||||
|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Adrienne Johnson hit five 3-pointers and scored a career-high 25 points as the Orlando Miracle routed the Detroit Shock 92-63 Sunday, clinching their first WNBA playoff berth. Nykesha Sales had 15 points and Taj McWilliams added 12 points and eight rebounds for Orlando (15-15), which snapped a seven-game losing streak. The Miracle's last victory was against Detroit, 88-78 on July 19. Dominique Canty scored 10 points to lead Detroit, which lost for the eighth time in 10 games. Astou Ndiaye-Diatta and Wendy Palmer each added nine points for the Shock (12-18). Orlando is third in the Eastern Conference, 1 1/2 games behind second-place Cleveland with two games remaining. The top four teams from each conference reach the playoffs. Detroit, meanwhile, remains in contention for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, but probably will need to beat Indiana on Monday and first-place New York on Wednesday. Orlando raced to a 10-2 lead behind five points from guard Shannon Johnson, who finished with nine assists. After Detroit closed to 14-8, Adrienne Johnson scored seven points in a 9-0 run as the Miracle took a commanding 23-8 advantage with 10:53 left in the first half. Orlando's lead never got below 11 points the rest of the way. The Miracle shot 49 percent from the field in the first half in building a 43-25 lead, hitting five of their first seven 3-pointers. Detroit shot just 33 percent from the field in the first half, and finished at 40 percent for the game. The Shock were outrebounded 41-29. | ALSO SEE WNBA Scoreboard RECAPS Orlando 92 Detroit 63
| |||||