The Shock moved to within a game of the final Eastern conference playoff spot with a 71-64 win over last place Charlotte. Detroit led by as much as 22 in the second half and should have won by more, if not for a slow start on offense and a sloppy finish in which Coach Laimbeer may have been too quick to take out the starters. A win is a win, but once again so many of the things that have gone wrong for the Shock all season went wrong here. Nine missed free throws, a few too many turnovers, too many missed field goals, and in general too much offensive inconsistency.

Recently acquired veteran Katie Smith had her first really big game with Detroit, scoring 21 points including a perfect 4 of 4 three point shots. Deanna Nolan had another solid outing with 17 points. Cheryl Ford and Ruth Riley both struggled on offense, a persistent problem this season that has me feeling like the proverbial broken record. At least Ford was solid on the boards as usual with nine.

Connecticut won last night, so Detroit is now officially unable to finish first in the East. On the other hand, anything from second through fourth is possible if only they can "Bring It" as they used to say in their promotional materials. This is a talented team with a lot of potential, they just need to play with more consistency and get better results out of certain players (whose names I have already mentioned more than enough).