Shock has advantage in deciding game of WNBA finals.

Byline: Mechelle Voepel

Sep. 16--The tug-of-war that has been the WNBA finals thus far will come to a conclusion today. Either coach Bill Laimbeer's "Bad Girls" or counterpart Paul Westhead's high-octane Mercury will win the championship. The game is at 3:30 p.m. Central time on ESPN2.

It's been a perfect finals for the league in its 11th season, with a display of athleticism, strength and talent. Yes, the teams have different styles, but the interesting thing is that each of them has won a game playing the other team's way.

It's proved to be an oversimplification that Phoenix is an offensive power, while Detroit is defense-oriented.

In the series opener Sept. 5, both teams reached the century mark -- but it was Detroit that won, 108-100. Thursday in game four, it was a more grind-it-out affair, and Phoenix won 77-76.

The only blowout of the series was game two, a 98-70 Phoenix victory in which the Mercury hit 16 three-pointers and Detroit essentially threw in the towel in the third quarter.

Last year, Detroit also was home to game five in the finals, and defeated Sacramento. Since the ...