Nancy Lieberman savored every moment of her brief return to professional basketball, even throwing in a no-look pass. The 50-year-old Hall of Famer had two assists and two turnovers in the Detroit Shock's 79-61 loss to the Houston Comets on Thursday night. Lieberman made a one-time only appearance in the Shock's first game since Tuesday night's bench-clearing melee with the Los Angeles Sparks. Five Shock players were suspended and Cheryl Ford sustained a season-ending injury, prompting coach Bill Laimbeer to offer Lieberman a seven-day contract. "I appreciate what Bill did for me and for women's basketball," Lieberman said. Lieberman played nine minutes, seven in the fourth quarter, when the game's outcome was decided. The Shock players tried to get her in a position to score every time down the floor at the end, but Lieberman could only get off one shot and missed it off the rim. With 1:16 left, she zipped a no-look pass to Olayinka Sanni in the lane and Sanni put it in, prompting some of the loudest applause of the night from the crowd of 7,261. "I think I'll be able to pass when I'm in a wheelchair," she said. "Hopefully, that won't be too soon. But I've always been able to pass and it's fun to make people better." The Comets lined up to hug Lieberman after the game and Lieberman posed for pictures and signed autographs for fans for nearly a half an hour. She was hardly sweating after the game and took satisfaction in knowing she kept up with the rest of the players, some of whom were half her age. "I felt like I showed I could get up and down the floor and I could play and I'm not running around on one of the geriatric teams," she said. "These are great players and the fact I can get out there with them, it's fantastic." Lieberman defended her contract, calling it more a necessity for the Shock than a gimmick to counter the negativity generated by the ugly incident on Tuesday. "In a crazy way, the timing is good," she said. "Bill never looked at this like a circus or an opportunity for a novelty. He looked at it as, 'You know what, I have a roster spot available and I was excited to do it.' "The other night was really sad and I was very disappointed," she said. "But today is a day to celebrate the history of the game and this league and to inspire people." Lieberman said she and Laimbeer had been talking about her joining the team for almost two weeks. Continued... |