2009 Detroit Shock season

2009 Detroit Shock season
Coach	Bill Laimbeer (1-3) Rick Mahorn (17-13)
Arena	Palace of Auburn Hills
Attendance	8,011 per game
Results
Record	18–16 (.529)
Place	3rd (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Lost Conference Finals
Team Leaders
Points	Nolan (16.9)
Rebounds	Ford (7.4)
Assists	Nolan (3.5)
← 2008 season 2010 season →

The 2009 WNBA season was the 12th for the Detroit Shock of the Women's National Basketball Association in the United States. The Shock attempted to win the WNBA Finals, tying the record for most championships with the Houston Comets (4 but failed in the conference finals. On June 15, 2009, head coach Bill Laimbeer resigned as head coach of the Detroit Shock, due to family reasons and the desire to become an NBA head coach. ^[1] Though he was unable to secure an NBA head coaching position, ESPN reported on August 30 that Laimbeer was offered, and accepted, an assistant coach position with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Shock is able to overcome the early struggles, and in 2008 championship Detroit Shock reached the playoffs in its seventh straight year. It was their final year in Detroit, as the Shock were purchased by Tulsa Hoops, and new ownership moved the team to Tulsa for 2010.

Offseason

Dispersal Draft

Based on the Shock's 2008 record, they could have picked 11th in the Houston Comets dispersal draft. However, the Shock waived their pick.

WNBA draft

The following are the Shock's selections in the 2009 WNBA draft.

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/Team/Country
1	11	Shavonte Zellous	United States	Pittsburgh
2	18 (from Phx. via Atl.)	Britany Miller	United States	Florida State
3	37	Tanae Davis-Cain	United States	Florida State

^[2]

Transactions

• August 18: The Shock signed Nikki Teasley after Barbara Farris' seven-day contract expired.
• August 17: The Shock acquired Crystal Kelly from the Sacramento Monarchs in exchange for Kristin Haynie.
• August 4: The Shock signed Barbara Farris after Anna DeForge's seven-day contract expired.
• July 27: The Shock signed Anna DeForge.
• July 23: The Shock waived Anna DeForge.
• July 10: The Shock signed Anna DeForge.
• July 6: The Shock waived Barbara Farris.
• June 28: The Shock terminated the replacement contract of Sherill Baker.
• June 26: The Shock signed Sherill Baker to a replacement contract.
• June 18: The Shock terminated the replacement contract of Kelly Schumacher due to the return of Cheryl Ford.
• June 15: The Shock announced the resignation of Bill Laimbeer. Assistant coach Rick Mahorn was promoted to head coach, while assistant coach Cheryl Reeve took over general management duties. ^[3]
• June 10: The Shock terminated Britany Miller's replacement contract and signed Kelly Schumacher to a replacement contract.
• June 8: The Shock signed Britany Miller to a replacement contract.
• June 3: The Shock waived Kristen Rasmussen, Tiera DeLaHoussaye, Britany Miller, and Sequoia Holmes.
• May 28: The Shock signed Barbara Farris.
• May 27: The Shock waived Tanae Davis-Cain.
• May 18: The Shock signed Kristen Rasmussen and Sequoia Holmes.
• April 22: The Shock signed Kristin Haynie.
• April 16: The Shock signed Tiera DeLaHoussaye to a training camp contract.
• April 9: The Shock traded Ashley Shields to the Atlanta Dream in exchange for the 18th pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft.
• January 30: The Shock signed Ashley Shields to a training-camp contract.
• January 9: The Shock re-signed free agent Kara Braxton.
• August 19, 2008: The Shock signed Taj McWilliams-Franklin to a one-year extension.
• August 12, 2008: The Shock traded their second-round 2009 WNBA Draft pick to the Washington Mystics as part of the Taj McWilliams-Franklin acquisition.

^[4]

Date	Trade
April 9, 2009	To Detroit Shock	To Atlanta Dream
	18th pick in 2009 Draft	Ashley Shields

Free agents

Additions Player Signed Former team Taj McWilliams-Franklin August 19, 2008 re-signed Kara Braxton January 9, 2009 re-signed Kristin Haynie April 22, 2009 Atlanta Dream Crystal Kelly August 17, 2009 Sacramento Monarchs Nikki Teasley August 18, 2009 free agent

Subtractions Player Left New team Ashley Shields April 9, 2009 free agent Tanae Davis-Cain May 27, 2009 free agent Britany Miller June 3, 2009 free agent Kristin Haynie August 17, 2009 Sacramento Monarchs Sheri Sam 2009 free agent Elaine Powell 2009 free agent Kelly Schumacher 2009 free agent

Roster

2009 Detroit Shock roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Height Weight From C 45 Braxton, Kara 6' 6" (1.98m) 190 lb (86kg) Georgia PF 35 Ford, Cheryl 6' 3" (1.91m) 195 lb (88kg) Louisiana Tech SG 22 Hornbuckle, Alexis 5' 11" (1.8m) 155 lb (70kg) Tennessee F 42 Kelly, Crystal 6' 2" (1.88m) 190 lb (86kg) Western Kentucky C 44 McWilliams, Taj 6' 2" (1.88m) 184 lb (83kg) St. Edward's University SG 14 Nolan, Deanna 5' 11" (1.8m) 147 lb (67kg) Georgia SF 23 Pierson, Plenette   6' 2" (1.88m) 178 lb (81kg) Texas Tech C 24 Sanni, Olayinka 6' 2" (1.88m) 205 lb (93kg) West Virginia G/F 30 Smith, Katie 5' 11" (1.8m) 175 lb (79kg) Ohio State G 6 Teasley, Nikki 6' 0" (1.83m) 169 lb (77kg) North Carolina G 1 Zellous, Shavonte 5' 10" (1.78m) 155 lb (70kg) Pittsburgh	Head coach Rick Mahorn (Hampton) Assistant coaches Earl Cureton (Detroit Mercy) Cheryl Reeve (La Salle) Athletic trainer Laura Ramus (Wayne State (MI)) Strength and conditioning coach Laura Ramus (Wayne State (MI)) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured   WNBA roster page

Season standings

Eastern Conference	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Conf.
Indiana Fever x	22	12	.647	–	14–3	8–9	17–5
Atlanta Dream x	18	16	.529	4.0	12–5	6–11	10–12
Detroit Shock x	18	16	.529	4.0	11–6	7–10	11–11
Washington Mystics x	16	18	.471	6.0	11–6	5–12	10–12
Chicago Sky o	16	18	.471	6.0	12–5	4–13	10–12
Connecticut Sun o	16	18	.471	6.0	12–5	4–13	9–12
New York Liberty o	13	21	.382	9.0	8–9	5–12	8–13

Schedule

Preseason

2009 Game Log: Preseason Game Date Time (ET) Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 1 May 22 7:30pm @ Chicago 67-71 Hornbuckle (14) Miller (10) DeLaHoussaye (5) UIC Pavilion 3,283 0-1 2 May 27 11:00am Chicago 78-68 Zellous (18) Zellous (8) Smith (5) Palace of Auburn Hills 3,952 1-1 3 May 30 7:00pm San Antonio 62-55 Zellous (13) Sanni (6) Hornbuckle (3) Traverse City West H.S. 2,109 2-1

Regular season

2009 Game Log: Regular Season
June Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 1 June 6 2:30pm @ Los Angeles ABC 58-78 Nolan (15) Smith (7) McWilliams (4) STAPLES Center 13,154 0-1 2 June 8 7:30pm Los Angeles 81-52 Nolan (27) Hornbuckle, McWilliams (7) Haynie, Hornbuckle, Smith (3) Palace of Auburn Hills 13,915 1-1 3 June 10 7:30pm Washington 69-75 Smith, McWilliams (14) Sanni, Zellous (7) Nolan (6) Palace of Auburn Hills 7,329 1-2 4 June 19 7:30pm Indiana 54-66 Nolan (13) Hornbuckle, McWilliams (10) Hornbuckle, Nolan, Smith (2) Palace of Auburn Hills 7,725 1-3 5 June 21 6:00pm @ Indiana NBA TV FSI 70-82 Nolan (16) Nolan (8) Nolan (6) Conseco Fieldhouse 7,610 1-4 6 June 26 7:30pm @ Atlanta 86-96 Zellous (25) McWilliams (9) McWilliams, Nolan (2) Philips Arena 5,935 1-5 7 June 28 6:00pm Sacramento 86-72 Zellous (18) Ford (8) McWilliams, Smith (3) Palace of Auburn Hills 7,277 2-5
July Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 8 July 2 7:30pm @ New York MSG 64-80 Ford (13) Ford, Hornbuckle (10) Smith (5) Madison Square Garden 8,018 2-6 9 July 5 6:00pm Connecticut 92-95 (OT) Smith (28) Hornbuckle (12) McWilliams (5) Palace of Auburn Hills 6,981 2-7 10 July 11 7:00pm @ Connecticut NBA TV WCTX 79-77 (OT) Smith (25) Braxton (13) Smith (3) Mohegan Sun Arena 6,342 3-7 11 July 15 10:00pm @ Seattle NBA TV FSN-NW 66-62 Smith (19) Ford (8) Nolan (7) KeyArena 6,821 4-7 12 July 18 10:00pm @ Phoenix 90-97 Smith (21) McWilliams (12) Smith (5) US Airways Center 8,288 4-8 13 July 19 9:00pm @ Sacramento 69-65 McWilliams (21) McWilliams (12) Braxton, Nolan, Smith, Zellous (3) ARCO Arena 7,538 5-8 14 July 22 12:00pm Atlanta 95-98 (OT) Braxton (25) Braxton (12) Nolan (9) Palace of Auburn Hills 14,439 5-9 15 July 31 7:30pm Minnesota 91-83 Nolan (22) Ford (9) McWilliams, Nolan (9) Palace of Auburn Hills 9,314 6-9
August Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 16 August 2 6:00pm Connecticut 65-83 Nolan (20) Ford (9) Nolan (4) Palace of Auburn Hills 7,814 6-10 17 August 4 7:30pm New York ESPN2 76-64 Nolan (26) Nolan (14) McWilliams, Nolan, Smith (4) Palace of Auburn Hills 7,081 7-10 18 August 7 7:00pm @ Washington 66-70 Braxton (14) McWilliams (7) Nolan (6) Verizon Center 10,637 7-11 19 August 9 6:00pm Chicago 64-58 Zellous (19) McWilliams (12) Smith (4) Palace of Auburn Hills 6,893 8-11 20 August 11 7:00pm @ Washington 81-77 Nolan (23) McWilliams (13) McWilliams, Zellous (4) Verizon Center 10,398 9-11 21 August 13 7:30pm @ Atlanta 75-80 Nolan (20) McWilliams (10) McWilliams (5) Philips Arena 5,641 9-12 22 August 15 7:00pm @ Indiana 59-82 Zellous (16) Braxton (10) McWilliams, Zellous (3) Conseco Fieldhouse 9,963 9-13 23 August 18 7:30pm Seattle 75-79 Nolan (29) McWilliams (8) Smith (5) Palace of Auburn Hills 7,392 9-14 24 August 22 8:00pm @ Chicago 76-67 Smith (10) Ford (9) 4 players (4) UIC Pavilion 5,167 10-14 25 August 23 6:00pm San Antonio 99-87 Smith (31) McWilliams, Nolan (7) Hornbuckle (7) Palace of Auburn Hills 7,130 11-14 26 August 25 7:00pm @ Connecticut 90-70 Smith (19) Kelly (8) Zellous (5) Mohegan Sun Arena 6,811 12-14 27 August 27 7:30pm Atlanta 87-83 Nolan (29) Ford (12) Hornbuckle (5) Palace of Auburn Hills 5,695 13-14 28 August 29 3:00pm @ San Antonio ESPN2 88-100 (OT) Nolan (34) Braxton (7) Teasley (5) AT&T Center 7,735 13-15
September Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 29 September 1 7:30pm Phoenix 101-99 Ford (22) Ford (11) Teasley, Zellous (5) Palace of Auburn Hills 5,239 14-15 30 September 4 7:30pm Indiana 70-63 (OT) Nolan (22) Ford (12) Nolan (4) Palace of Auburn Hills 7,230 15-15 31 September 6 6:00pm Chicago 84-75 Nolan (19) Nolan (8) Braxton, Hornbuckle, Nolan (4) Palace of Auburn Hills 6,619 16-15 32 September 9 8:00pm @ Minnesota 72-75 Ford (16) Ford (12) Ford, Teasley, Zellous (4) Target Center 7,423 16-16 33 September 10 7:30pm New York NBA TV MSG 94-87 (OT) Nolan (34) Braxton, McWilliams (8) Hornbuckle, Zellous (5) Palace of Auburn Hills 8,178 17-16 34 September 12 8:00pm @ Chicago 80-69 Zellous (20) McWilliams (10) Nolan, Zellous (4) UIC Pavilion 5,334 18-16
All games are viewable on WNBA LiveAccess

Postseason

2009 Game Log: Postseason
Eastern Conference Semifinals Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Series 1 September 16 8:00pm Atlanta ESPN2 94-89 Nolan (25) Ford (10) Hornbuckle (5) Palace of Auburn Hills 6,122 1-0 2 September 18 7:30pm @ Atlanta NBA TV 94-79 Nolan (22) Braxton, Hornbuckle (8) Braxton, Nolan (5) Gwinnett Arena 4,780 2-0
Eastern Conference Finals Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Series 1 September 23 8:00pm Indiana ESPN2 72-56 Zellous (23) Braxton, Ford (9) Zellous (5) Palace of Auburn Hills 7,214 1-0 2 September 25 7:00pm @ Indiana NBA TV 75-79 Nolan (23) Ford (13) Hornbuckle, Nolan, Zellous (3) Conseco Fieldhouse 9,210 1-1 3 September 26 7:00pm @ Indiana NBA TV 67-72 Nolan (16) Ford (11) Hornbuckle, McWilliams, Nolan (4) Conseco Fieldhouse 18,165 1-2

Regular Season Statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game	RPG	Rebounds per game
APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game	BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage	TO	Turnovers per game
PF	Fouls per game		Team leader		League leader

Player statistics

Player	GP	GS	MPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Sherill Baker	1	0	11.0	1.0	1.0	1.00	0.00	7.0
Kara Braxton	28	2	18.0	6.0	1.5	0.68	0.64	9.0
Barbara Farris	13	3	8.5	1.4	0.4	0.38	0.00	1.3
Tanae Davis-Cain	1	0	4.0	2.0	0.0	0.00	0.00	2.0
Anna DeForge	7	7	16.1	2.9	1.4	0.57	0.00	1.4
Cheryl Ford	29	29	26.0	7.4	0.9	0.97	0.45	8.6
Kristin Haynie	20	2	8.1	1.3	0.6	0.70	0.00	2.2
Alexis Hornbuckle	32	21	26.6	4.9	2.7	1.31	0.28	6.7
Crystal Kelly	11	0	7.6	1.3	0.4	0.36	0.09	2.8
Taj McWilliams	34	34	30.4	6.6	2.9	0.97	0.47	9.8
Britany Miller	1	0	8.0	0.0	0.0	1.00	0.00	0.0
Deanna Nolan	33	33	33.7	4.3	3.5	1.33	0.30	16.9
Plenette Pierson	1	0	5.0	0.0	0.0	1.00	1.00	0.0
Olayinka Sanni	31	1	9.6	1.8	0.5	0.35	0.16	3.8
Kelly Schumacher	1	0	10.0	0.0	0.0	0.00	1.00	0.0
Katie Smith	27	27	33.1	2.3	2.8	0.78	0.07	13.7
Nikki Teasley	11	7	20.2	1.3	2.2	0.55	0.36	3.8
Shavonte Zellous	34	4	23.6	3.1	1.8	0.79	0.50	11.9

Team statistics

Team	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TO	PF	PPG
Detroit Shock	.430	.351	.748	36.1	16.9	7.7	2.8	16.1	22.5	78.0
Opponents	.410	.340	.777	32.4	15.4	8.2	3.2	15.6	21.1	77.8

Awards and honors

• Deanna Nolan was named WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the week of August 24, 2009.
• Deanna Nolan was named WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the week of August 31, 2009.
• Deanna Nolan was named WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the week of September 7, 2009.
• Katie Smith was named to the 2009 WNBA All-Star Team as an Eastern Conference reserve.
• Shavonte Zellous was named to the All-Rookie Team .
• Deanna Nolan was named to the All-WNBA Second Team .
• Deanna Nolan was named to the All-Defensive Second Team .

References

1. "Laimbeer resigns as Shock coach". ESPN. June 15, 2009. Archived from the original on June 21, 2009. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
2. "WNBA.com: 2009 WNBA Draft Board". Archived from the original on June 28, 2009. Retrieved June 7, 2009.
3. "Laimbeer resigns as Shock coach". ESPN. June 15, 2009. Archived from the original on June 21, 2009. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
4. WNBA.com: 2009 WNBA Transactions