UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- Nykesha Sales knows all about playing on a championship team in Connecticut -- at the college level.

LIFE OF RILEY

Shock coach Bill Laimbeer likes what he sees in center Ruth Riley. The 6-foot-5 center's all-around play was instrumental in Detroit's elimination of Cleveland in the opening round of the playoffs, and Laimbeer expects to depend on the former Notre Dame star in the conference finals. He's seeing the aggressiveness he sought when he took her with the No.1 pick in April's dispersal draft. "See her strength and determination?'' Laimbeer said while watching Riley practice. "No one can stop this.'' -- The Associated Press

Now, she'd like to celebrate a WNBA title as a pro with the Connecticut Sun.

Eight years after UConn's leading career scorer helped the Huskies to the NCAA title, Sales is trying to duplicate that. But this time there's less urgency.

"It's a little different,'' she said of the Eastern Conference championship matchup with the Detroit Shock. "It's a three-game series. Back in college, it was one game and you're out.''

Sales and Detroit's Swin Cash, part of UConn national championship teams in 2000 and 2002, make interesting opponents.

"Having that first game at home should be an advantage,'' Sales said.

The series begins here Friday night, then switches to Auburn Hills, Mich., for Game 2 on Sunday. The Shock will host a third game, if necessary, Monday night.

In the Western Conference, the schedule is the same, with the Sacramento Monarchs hosting Friday night's opener against the two-time defending WNBA champion Los Angeles Sparks. Games 2 and 3, if necessary, will be in Los Angeles.

Sales, who grew up in Bloomfield, certainly didn't expect the Nutmeg State to be her home as a pro. She was the inaugural pick of the expansion Orlando Miracle in 1998.

The forward/guard never had much of a chance to make noise in the postseason. The Miracle made the playoffs once, but failed to advance past the first round.

The team was on the verge of folding until the Mohegan Indian tribe bought the franchise in January and moved it here.

"It took us about a good month-and-a-half to really jell,'' Sales said. "We have confidence and are playing together. I'm happy to be in the position we're in.''

Sales has had an exceptional season, averaging a career-high 16.1 points and leading the Sun with 46 steals. Sales is the only Miracle/Sun player to appear in every game in franchise history.

Her play wasn't always so memorable, but Sun coach Mike Thibault likes what he has seen this season.

"What she brought is a competitive spirit that sometimes has been in question,'' Thibault said. "But I've seen a fire in her that I like. Maybe coming home rejuvenated her, maybe she just needed to be in a different situation.''