CLEVELAND, Aug. 29 (Ticker) -- Swin Cash more than made up for her missed free throws down the stretch.

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Cash hit the go-ahead basket with 4.7 seconds remaining and forced a crucial turnover moments later as the Detroit Shock defeated the Cleveland Rockers, 76-74, in the opener of their best-of-three Eastern Conference semifinal series.

The Shock, who trailed by as many as nine points in the first half, took a 71-63 lead on a layup by Cash with 4:54 remaining. But Cash, who made her first nine free throws, missed three of her next four to allow the Rockers to stick around.

Cleveland took a 74-73 lead on a pair of free throws by Chasity Melvin with 29 seconds left.

Following two timeouts, Detroit worked the ball to center Ruth Riley, who missed a step-under leaner and a follow-up jumper in the final 10 seconds. But Cash jumped over several players and tipped in the rebound of Riley's second shot with 4.7 seconds to play.

Following a timeout, Cash deflected Helen Darling's inbounds pass off the knee of Deanna Jackson, who could not keep the ball in the frontcourt, giving Detroit possession with 3.1 seconds left.

Elaine Powell made 1-of-2 free throws with 2.4 seconds remaining and Darling missed a halfcourt shot at the buzzer.

Cash tied a career high with 26 points, Deanna Nolan added 13 and Riley 11 for the Shock, who limited the Rockers to 39 percent shooting (25-of-65).

Melvin contributed 21 points, LaToya Thomas had 17 and Penny Taylor 16 for Cleveland, which lost all four regular-season meetings with Detroit.

Game Two is Sunday in Detroit.