AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) – Swin Cash cradled the WNBA championship trophy with tears in her eyes.

“This is just unreal,” she said on the floor of the Detroit Shock’s locker room. “I know it will be a few years before I have children, so this is my baby. We haven’t named it yet, but I’m thinking that we’ll call it No. 1. Then next year, we’ll have No. 2, and then No. 3, and so on.”

Detroit beat the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Sparks 83-78 Tuesday night to cap a remarkable worst-to-first season with a championship.

As confetti rained onto the court and music blared, Detroit rookie Cheryl Ford hugged her father, Karl Malone of the Los Angeles Lakers, near his second-row seat.

“It’s great to share a moment like this with family,” Ford said

The Shock, who were almost moved or folded last year, won a league-best 25 games this season after finishing at the bottom of the WNBA in 2002 with a 9-23 record.

Bill Laimbeer is credited with saving the franchise.

The former member of the Detroit Pistons “Bad Boys” convinced ownership to give him a chance to turn around the Shock as coach, director of player personnel and outspoken advocate for professional women’s basketball in the area.

Laimbeer revamped the roster and instilled confidence in each player – two decisions that proved to be perfect.

Laimbeer drafted Ford with the third overall pick and took Ruth Riley, a former Miami player, with the top selection in the dispersal draft. Ford was the league’s rookie of the year and Riley was the MVP of the finals.

The Shock got off to a strong start and after their crowds grew and opponents respected them more, they kept winning. The team was to celebrate their championship with fans at The Palace on Wednesday night.

Laimbeer, who won NBA titles with the Pistons in 1989 and 1990, doesn’t think the Shock’s first title will be their last.

“For a lot of people, it’s a storybook ending,” Laimbeer said. “For us, it’s just the beginning. We know that it was our destiny to compete for the championship this year.

“We also know that we are the youngest team in the league. We are one of the biggest and most athletic teams with great players and internal leadership. We are set up for a run and we are set up to be a power in this league for an extended period of time.”

Cash finished fifth in the voting for the league’s MVP and was joined on the All-WNBA second team by Deanna Nolan and Ford.

Nolan, in just her third year, is the most experienced player among the Shock’s top four.

Game 3 of the finals drew a WNBA-record crowd of 22,076, breaking the mark of 19,563 set in the 2000 finals with New York at Houston.

The Palace, also the home of the Pistons, changed its address from 2 Championship Drive to 3 Championship Drive after the game

AP-ES-09-17-03 1914EDT