NEW YORK, July 12 (Ticker) --Katie Douglas of the Connecticut Sun helped end a dubious slump for the Eastern Conference.
Douglas scored 16 points en route to being named the game's MVP
as the East ran away with its first win in the seventh
WNBA All-Star Game with a 98-82 victory over the heavily-favored
West.
Similar to the league championship, the West had dominated this
event, winning each of the first six games by an average of 12.5
points.
However, the Shock, the lone Eastern Conference club over the
first nine seasons to win a league title in 2003, once again had
a hand in breaking the West's control. Detroit's Katie Smith scored 14 and Cheryl Ford added 13.
Acquiring Smith in a trade from the Minnesota Lynx to bolster
their squad for a playoff run last season, Detroit ended the
2005 campaign with a starting five of All-Stars.
The Shock were unable to accomplish that feat with all five
players in uniform this season as both center Ruth Riley and
forward Swin Cash were passed over. Those that did attend,
including guard Deanna Nolan, made a huge impact.
Smith ignited a decisive 16-4 run that closed the second quarter
with a jumper and had five points during the spurt. Ford, the
daughter of NBA great Karl Malone, had three layups during the
burst as the East took a 49-40 advantage at the half.
The momentum stayed with the East following the break as Ford
had another layup and converted a three-point play off an
inbounds pass to make it 56-42 with 8:30 left in the third.
Douglas added a layup as the East
completed a 15-2 run to pull ahead 66-46 on a pair of free
throws by Nolan with 4:43 left in the third.
The East led by as many as 27 points before finishing with its
second highest point total in the event.
Minnesota rookie Seimone Augustus was the lone player in double
figures for the West with 16 points. The West shot just 36
percent (32-of-89) and was outrebounded by a 50-45 margin.
The East played without two of its starters as Tamika Catchings
of the Indiana Fever and Becky Hammon of the New York Liberty
were sidelined with injuries.













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