Indy defeated Detroit the way the Fever have historically won close games: with free throws. The defending champs are out; Tamika Catchings and her team will see their first-ever WNBA finals.

Indy's starters plus Bri January (whom I like more every time I see her take charge) shot a combined 27-28 from the line: enough to prevail in a very tough, very close contest, despite scoring just one field goal in the last nine minutes.

Detroit fans ask if their team suffered from lack of depth. But the real determinants of Detroit's success in close games are (a) Nolan's long-range shooting, (b) turnovers and miscommunications, and (c) how physically the game is called.

Other teams' fans have long accused the Shock of knocking opponents down over and over and pretty much daring the refs to call what they see: if you've already given one team 20 more fouls than their opponents, it can get psychologically harder to call #21. (Shock fans, respond with some justice, that Cheryl Ford is just stronger and tougher than the people she's matched against.)

Whatever the justice in such argument, it's clear that the Shock do worse when a game gets called tightly, and that the Fever do well. "It was frustrating to see the Fever shoot all the free throws," said Detroit's Hornbuckle. "But we were the ones playing the defense, and we were the ones turning the ball over."

It's also clear that the Fever's home advantage helped. "When the game was on the line, the fans came alive," said coach Dunn. "And I really think they shook the Shock down the stretch."

Considering the team's financial worries, Indy columnist Bob Kravitz goes further: "This might have been the night that saved the Indiana Fever."