Saturday, September 20 2008 -- Saturday, September 20, 2008 -- On Thursday, the WNBA playoffs began, with the Western Conference's Connecticut Sun losing the first in a 2 out of 3 series to the New York Liberty, and the San Antonio Silver Stars defeating the Sacrametno Monarchs in the first game of their series.

On Friday, the rest of their teams got their chance.

In the early game, the Eastern Conference's Detroit Shock defeated the Indiana Fever, 81-72.

Taj McWilliams-Franklin, the center for the Shock, had 17 points and seven rebounds. In addition, Deanna Nolan had 22 points, and Plenette Pierson put in 11.

For the Fever, who were unable to defeat the Shock during the regular season, Tamika Catchings had 19 points and seven assists, Ebony Hoffman put in 19, and Tan White contributed 11.

The next game for the Shock is on Sunday.

In the late night game, the Western Conference Los Angeles Sparks defeated the Seattle Storm, 77-69.

The rookie from the Tennessee Lady Vols, Candace Parker, contributed 11 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in the victory. DeLisha Milton-Jones and Marie Ferdinand-Harris each added 11 points, and Lisa Leslie had 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Sue Bird put in 23 points for the Storm, who are hampered by the loss of their all-star player, Lauren Jackson, who had surgery and is expected to miss the entire series. Tanisha Wright contributed 13 points.

The next game for the Storm is in Seattle on Sunday.