San Antonio, TX (Betting Express) - Katie Smith and Taj McWilliams-Franklin combined to score 49 points and haul in 16 rebounds to lead the Detroit Shock in a 77-69 victory over the San Antonio Silver Stars in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals from AT&T Center.

Smith ended with 25 points and nine rebounds for the Shock, who lost the season-series to these Silver Stars, 2-0. Kara Braxton and Deanna Nolan scored 10 points apiece for the Shock, who are in the finals for a third straight year. They won the title in 2006 and captured the opener of this series thanks to scoring the final eight points of the game.

Sophia Young tallied 21 points and nine rebounds for the Silver Stars, who ended the season with five straight victories and are playing in the franchise's first title series. Ann Wauters had 16 points and Becky Hammon 13 in defeat.

Braxton drained a layup and Smith followed with a 15-foot jumper to give the Shock a 73-69 lead with 1:42 remaining in the fourth.

San Antonio pulled no closer as Young missed a jumper and Hammon lost control of the ball on the two ensuing Silver Star possessions before McWilliams- Franklin hit a pair from the charity stripe to put the game out of reach, 75-69, with 21.3 ticks remaining.

Alexis Hornbuckle then had a steal, was fouled and sank both free throws with 15.7 seconds left to put the finishing touches on the victory.

Game 2 of the best-of-five series is set for Friday in San Antonio.

"I told our players after the game, we've done nothing so far, except win one basketball game," said Detroit coach Bill Laimbeer. "It doesn't mean a whole lot. I don't want to hear about we got the home court back. This is one game."

Young and Hammon made consecutive buckets late in the opening stanza to give the Silver Stars a five-point lead, however, Braxton connected on a six-foot jumper to make it 18-15 heading into the second quarter.

Down by three early in the second frame, Kelly Schumaker hit a jumper that sparked a 15-4 Detroit run. The surge was capped as Nolan drained a jumper with just under four minutes left in the half and gave the Shock a 32-24 advantage.

Nolan hit another jumper as time expired to give Detroit a 42-32 cushion over the home team heading to the intermission.

The teams traded baskets and the Shock held their 10-point lead, 59-49, after three quarters of play.

A pair of jumpers from Smith gave Detroit a 63-49 lead with just over eight minutes left in the game.

Hammon answered with a jumper that sparked a game-changing 20-6 run which ended with the guard hitting a pair of free throws to tie the game at 69-69 with 2:15 left in regulation.

"In the regular season, we had a lot of games like that," said Young. "But this playoff thing is definitely different. The intensity in the game is much different. We can't put ourselves in that hole anymore."