Sports briefs for May 23, 2005

Monday, May 23, 2005 | 9:51 a.m.

Shock opens 2-0

Deanna Nolan made five free throws in the final 34 seconds to lift the Detroit Shock to a 78-71 road victory against the New York Liberty.

Nolan went 8-of-9 from the foul line and finished with 17 points. Cheryl Ford had 15 points and 18 rebounds for the Shock, who opened their season with wins on consecutive days.

Stanford claims women's championship

Stanford won its second consecutive NCAA women's tennis title Sunday, beating Texas 4-0 to complete its second consecutive perfect season.

The Cardinal (27-0) has won 56 matches in a row, 20 short of the school record set from 1988-91.

Greene loses

Maurice Greene lost to training partner Leonard Scott in the 100 meters, Olympic champion Jeremy Wariner won the 400 and Olympic silver medalist Allyson Felix won the 200 at the Adidas Track Classic on Sunday.

Scott overcame two false starts and a strong headwind to win in 10.03 seconds. Greene's starting blocks slipped and he wound up fourth in 10.32.

After a false start, Wariner won the 400 in 44.53, fastest in the world this year.

Felix won the 200 in 22.14, barely edging a deep field.

Thunder one step closer to World Bowl

Dave Ragone threw three touchdown passes Saturday, and the Berlin Thunder closed in on a spot in the World Bowl with a 27-17 win against the Hamburg Sea Devils.

Berlin, the defending World Bowl champions, moved to a league best 6-2 with two games left. Hamburg fell to 4-4.

Ragone, allocated by the Houston Texans, completed 22 of 31 passes for 258 yards. Aaron Boone caught six passes for 81 yards, including a touchdown.

Kevin Miller added three field goals for Berlin, including a 35-yarder with just over two minutes remaining to seal the win.

Sea Devils quarterback Casey Bramlet was 15-of-24 for 156 yards and a touchdown.

-- Sun wire services