The Shock survived another gutsy performance by the young Liberty squad with a tight 76-73 victory.

Chery Ford returned to the starting line-up and Plenette Pierson returned to her important 6th person role off the bench and both made huge plays down the stretch to help the Shock hold on. A 17 point lead looked like it might be enough for the defending champs, but the Lib Kids fought back to tie the game at 71 with under three minutes left.

Ford's lay-up with 44 seconds left on a perfect pass from Swin Cash put the Shock up for good at 75-73. Ford's physical presence helped her team dominate points in the paint and rebounding. Yet, the Liberty still had their chances to tie or win the game. A shot clock violation, a missed Liberty defensive rebound and two Shock defensive stops helped ensure a game three.

Pierson came up especially big in the last two defensive stops for the Shock. "We thought they were going to go for a 3, but they came inside of our paint," said Pierson of the final minutes. "We've been known all year to stop people that come inside our paint. I just took it upon myself to do whatever was necessary to get a stop."

The Shock had a balanced offensive attack, while Shameka Christon and Janel McCarville once again came up big for the Liberty, especially in their run.

They had a chance to win the series," said Laimbeer of the Liberty. "Now, it's our turn to win the series. We started the game at a fever pitch, and in the first half were relentless. In the second half we had a little lull and you can't do that."