Detroit looked pretty good for the first half, but the Lib kept the pace slow and the score low; when the fourth quarter rolled in, New York took charge. The result: a Lib win, and a close, exciting, well-played game before a very big crowd.

The cameras loved the celebrities in that crowd-- Robin Roberts, coach Stringer, a handful of Knicks. The Liberty loyalists loved Janel McCarville (17 points, a couple of cool reverse layups, and a lot of work down low) and Shameka Christon (a double-double); they also loved Erin Thorn, who came off the bench for the first time in the final minute, presumably for her free-throw shooting, and then stunned everybody-- she sure shocked the Shock-- with a driving layup that sealed the deal.

As exciting as the ending was, for most of the night we were watching defense. "It was a physical game," Janel said afterwards, "and I don't think we're a team to shy away from that."

Lib fans also remember last year's series, decided by one point, in Detroit, in game three. The Shock have a history of snapping back to attention after unfocused games, and they might play better at home-- but they're not going, precisely, home: Sunday's game will take place in Ypsilanti, since the Palace was already booked. Take away Deanna Nolan's familiar sightlines, and you might just reduce-- by a smidgen-- the chance that she'll shoot the lights out late in the game.