Cheryl Ford and Ruth Riley were newcomers to the Detroit Shock in 2003. They didn’t know much about the previous year’s team — which finished 9-23, the WNBA’s worst record. But early in the season, they got an inkling that something special could happen.
Riley arrived in Detroit that April in a special dispersal draft after her previous team, the Miami Sol, folded. A former Notre Dame standout, Riley was already familiar with Swin Cash, who had played for UConn and faced Riley in college before joining the Shock as the No. 2 overall pick in 2002. And Ford, who was drafted by the Shock No. 3 overall in 2003, arrived in Detroit with a decorated résumé from her time at Louisiana Tech.
That season eventually featured a “worst to first” storybook rise for the Shock, who went 25-9 — the best record in the league — and captured their first of three championships, downing the Los Angeles Sparks in three games. The Shock would go on to win titles in 2006 and 2008, with a WNBA Finals loss in 2007 as well.
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The Detroit Pistons celebrated that first title’s 20th anniversary during their home game against the Charlotte Hornets at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday. Most of the roster, including the starting five — Cash, Ford, Riley, Deanna “Tweety” Nolan and Elaine Powell — and head coach and former Piston Bill Laimbeer, were in attendance for the game and were honored at halftime.
“We were young, we were selfless, we were hungry,” Riley said during a pregame panel with Pistons and Shock fans. “We just loved the game and you could tell that passion every time we stepped on the court. Even though we were young, we believed that we could win. To be able to have the group that we did and all of that come together, the battle against (Los Angeles) in the Finals. We did represent the city of Detroit. Hard-working, blue collar. Seeing the Palace filled to the brim of people that we loved, and we loved to play for and loved to represent. That meant a lot for a lot of us.”
Laimbeer, who coached the Shock from 2002-09, believed in the Shock’s chances sooner. Before the season started, he told Tom Wilson, the former president and chief executive officer of Palace Sports and Entertainment, that the Shock had a championship-caliber roster.
They had Cash, who led the team in scoring with a career-high 16.6 points per game en route to the first of four All-Star appearances. (Cash was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame last September.) Ford was named Rookie of the Year, and Riley earned Finals MVP honors. Nolan, a Flint native, had established herself as a starter the previous season, and Powell provided steady playmaking at guard.
It also helped that Laimbeer, who won championships with the Pistons in 1989 and 1990, knew what it took to win it all.
“I saw something about Swin Cash as a leader, and Nolan is coming into her own,” Laimbeer said. “Then we got Cheryl Ford in the draft and Ruth Riley in the expansion draft, so it was clear early in the season that we were going to be something special. Now if we won or not, that’s up to the players. I give them all the credit in the world. But we changed the way basketball was played in that year, a more physical style and fast-paced, up and down the floor. The best part is, there was not a stigma. There was a nervousness about the players being overly physical in that period of time, and they overcame that and then took it to Los Angeles and won.”
Cash began to realize the team’s potential during her second training camp.
“I know when we drafted (Ford), I was like, ‘Oh, OK, she brings this skill. And then we got Ruth in the dispersal draft, so there were these pieces that we saw,” Cash said. “And I would say probably in training camp, we were so physical in training camp that we were trying to stay healthy. For me early on, I thought it was definitely going to be a better season than the year before.
“We had that sense, it was just about making sure we could continue it and have sustainability throughout the season,” she continued.
The Shock lost their first game that season, then won eight straight en route to becoming the best team in the league. They also lost their first game of the Finals in Los Angeles, 75-63, before returning home and winning both games at the Palace to clinch the first title in the franchise’s six-year history.
“Bill always told us to win the home games,” Ford said. “We knew we were coming home and we needed to win the home games. Like I said, we lost the first one when the season started. We won the next eight. We had the confidence. We knew we could come back and win. We just need to win the home games.”
Game 3 drew a then-WNBA record 22,076 fans to Auburn Hills on Sept. 16, 2003. Riley scored 27 points in a game that saw Detroit control most of the first half before the Sparks, led by future Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie, rallied in the final minutes. Nolan tied the game at 75 with a 3-pointer with 53.1 seconds left, and then tied the game again at 80 with a pair of free throws with 23.9 seconds left. Ford made two more free throws with 12.5 seconds left to clinch the 83-78 win.
What memories stand out most, 20 years later?
“The 22,000 fans we had, standing room only,” Ford said. “That’s amazing, I get chills still thinking about that. When people send me the video to watch it, oh my God. That was my favorite.”
“Game 3, it was such a battle back and forth, so close down to the wire and some big shots,” Riley added. “Tweety hitting an incredible shot down the stretch. Also just the ability to celebrate each other’s success and know that we’re all a part of what we’re trying to accomplish in winning. I would say Game 3 of the Finals was probably the greatest of it. In particular, the ending of that game, that was phenomenal competition.”