Hammon boosts Liberty

Becky Hammon had 10 of her 12 points in the second half, helping the Liberty end a five-game losing streak against the defending WNBA champion Detroit Shock in a 64-52 victory last night at New York.

Crystal Robinson and Tari Phillips had 13 points apiece as all five Liberty starters scored in double figures. Vickie Johnson added 11 points and Elena Baranova missed getting her third straight double-double, finishing with 11 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Cheryl Ford, last season's rookie of the year, had 12 points and 14 rebounds for the Shock before fouling out with 3:20 remaining.

New York beat Detroit for the first time since June 9, 2002, and limited the Shock to just 18 points in the second half on 6-for-27 shooting (22.2 percent).

Trailing, 34-33, at halftime, the Liberty went on a 16-6 run to take a 9-point lead six minutes into the second half. Hammon had 8 points during that stretch.

New York's lead was at least 7 the rest of the way, and reached 15, at 64-59, on Johnson's 16-foot jumper with 1:32 remaining.

Detroit scored the game's first 5 points for its biggest lead of the game, before the Liberty scored 7 straight points to take their first lead.

Silver Stars 56, Lynx 44 -- Marie Ferdinand scored 12 of her 17 points in the second half, and Margo Dydek added 15 points to lead San Antonio over visiting Minnesota. After the Lynx closed within 4 points with 14 minutes left, the Silver Stars used a 13-4 run to break the game open.

Minnesota's 44 points was a franchise low, and a record low total for a San Antonio opponent.

The 7-foot-2-inch Dydek finished with nine blocks, and Adrienne Goodson had nine rebounds for San Antonio.

Nicole Ohlde paced Minnesota with 14 points and nine rebounds.