Hampered by injury and suspensions, the Detroit Shock have had a tough time trying to remain in first place.

The San Antonio Silver Stars don't have any such excuses.

With four players returning from suspensions, the Shock look to snap a season-high three-game losing streak Sunday night when they face the struggling Silver Stars in a matchup of first-place teams playing their last contest before the Olympic break.

Detroit (16-10) leads the Eastern Conference by one-half game and San Antonio (17-9) has the same edge in the West, but the Shock have been dealing with the aftermath of the most significant skirmish in WNBA history.

Five Detroit players were suspended and Cheryl Ford sustained a season-ending knee injury in a dustup with Los Angeles on Tuesday.

"None of us can recall an incident like this," WNBA president Donna Orender said.

While Ford was trying to restrain a teammate, her right knee buckled. The 6-foot-3 forward left the floor in a wheelchair and will miss the rest of the season and the playoffs with a torn knee ligament.

Her absence leaves Detroit without its top rebounder (8.6 per game) and fourth-leading scorer (10.1 ppg).

Meanwhile, Shock forward Plenette Pierson, who averages 11.4 points, was handed the longest suspension - four games - for initiating and escalating the altercation. She will miss three more games after sitting out Detroit's 79-61 loss to Houston on Thursday night.

Kara Braxton, Tasha Humphrey, Elaine Powell and Sheri Sam were all suspended for one game. Sam was the only one of the suspended Detroit players who appeared in Thursday's game, so she will be forced to sit out Sunday along with Pierson.

Detroit also will be without assistant coach Rick Mahorn, who was suspended for two games. Renee Brown, the WNBA's chief of basketball operations and player relations, said Mahorn started off as a peacemaker before he shoved Sparks star Lisa Leslie.

With his team short-handed, Pistons coach Bill Laimbeer signed Nancy Lieberman to a seven-day contract, and the 50-year-old Hall of Famer had two assists in the closing minutes versus the Comets. It was a one-time appearance for Lieberman.

The team signed center Kelly Schumacher on Saturday to fill the roster spot.

Ford and Pierson are Detroit's best frontcourt players, but at least the Shock will have Braxton and Humphrey back to compete with San Antonio's imposing forwards.

Silver Stars forward Sophia Young had 27 points and eight rebounds, while center Ann Wauters added 17 points and nine boards in a 79-72 overtime win over the Shock on July 1.

This will be the these teams' final meeting of the regular season, but it could be a WNBA finals preview. A potential title series between the teams will have to wait longer than usual, however, with the WNBA taking a monthlong break for the Olympics.

Neither team has been playing like a championship contender over the past week. The Silver Stars have lost three of five following a seven-game winning streak.

"At this point, everybody is fighting for position and kind of jockeying," San Antonio guard Becky Hammon said. "The games are important for everybody."

Hammon had 18 points against Minnesota on Friday night, but the Silver Stars lost 78-68.