AUBURN HILLS, MICH. ? For once, the Detroit Shock will be rooting for the Connecticut Sun.

Normally, the teams are archrivals, but that will change for 24 hours because of Detroit’s 55-40 victory Thursday night over the Indiana Fever.

“I have some friends on that team,” Swin Cash said. “I’m going to be sending them a lot of messages, asking them to make my life easier.”

Detroit (16-17) will clinch the fourth and final WNBA Eastern Conference playoff spot if Connecticut beats Washington today. If the Mystics win, the spot will go to the winner of Saturday’s Shock-Mystics game.

“We’ll be cheering loudly for the Sun,” Shock coach Bill Laimbeer said. “This is about making the playoffs – we’re not going to be bashful.”

Indiana’s point total was a season low.

“It was all about effort,” said Cheryl Ford, who led Detroit with 14 points and 10 rebounds. “We knew what we had to do.”

Sting 78, Liberty 66

New York – Charlotte won on the road for the first time this season, getting 24 points from Sheri Sam and 17 from Tammy Sutton-Brown.

Comets 80, Mercury 72

Phoenix – Michelle Snow had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Tina Thompson scored 16 of her 18 points in the second half as Houston clinched a playoff berth.

Storm 76, Monarchs 63

Seattle – Janell Burse scored 17 points, and Lauren Jackson added 14 as Seattle extended its home winning streak to eight games.