The 2004 WNBA season was the seventh season for the Detroit Shock. They were unable to defend their title the year before, losing in the first round to the New York Liberty.
| 2004 Detroit Shock season | |
|---|---|
| Coach | Bill Laimbeer |
| Arena | The Palace of Auburn Hills |
| Attendance | 9,462 per game |
| Results | |
| Record | 17–17 (.500) |
| Place | 3rd (Eastern) |
| Playoff finish | Lost First Round (2-1) to New York Liberty |
Offseason
editDispersal Draft
editBased on the Shock's 2004 record, they would pick 13th in the Cleveland Rockers dispersal draft. The Shock picked Jennifer Rizzotti.
WNBA draft
edit| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | College/School/Team |
| 1 | 11 | Iciss Tillis (C/F) |  United States
|
Duke |
| 1 | 13 | Shereka Wright (F) | United States
|
Purdue |
| 2 | 23 | Erika Valek (G) | United States
|
Purdue |
| 3 | 32 | Jennifer Smith (C) | United States
|
Michigan |
Regular season
editSeason standings
edit| Eastern Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connecticut Sun x | 18 | 16 | .529 | – | 10–7 | 8–9 | 14–6 |
| New York Liberty x | 18 | 16 | .529 | – | 11–6 | 7–10 | 10–10 |
| Detroit Shock x | 17 | 17 | .500 | 1.0 | 8–9 | 9–8 | 11–9 |
| Washington Mystics x | 17 | 17 | .500 | 1.0 | 11–6 | 6–11 | 9–11 |
| Charlotte Sting o | 16 | 18 | .471 | 2.0 | 10–7 | 6–11 | 8–12 |
| Indiana Fever o | 15 | 19 | .441 | 3.0 | 10–7 | 5–12 | 8–12 |
Season schedule
edit| Date | Opponent | Score | Result | Record |
| May 22 | @ San Antonio | 73-60 | Win | 1-0 |
| May 26 | @ New York | 52-64 | Loss | 1-1 |
| May 29 | Los Angeles | 60-63 | Loss | 1-2 |
| June 2 | Washington | 63-65 | Loss | 1-3 |
| June 6 | @ Connecticut | 74-73 | Win | 2-3 |
| June 9 | @ Indiana | 83-79 | Win | 3-3 |
| June 11 | @ Washington | 74-60 | Win | 4-3 |
| June 12 | Indiana | 72-68 | Win | 5-3 |
| June 19 | @ Sacramento | 84-74 | Win | 6-3 |
| June 22 | Washington | 72-78 | Loss | 6-4 |
| June 23 | @ Charlotte | 65-60 | Win | 7-4 |
| June 25 | @ Connecticut | 67-71 (OT) | Loss | 7-5 |
| June 27 | Connecticut | 72-74 | Loss | 7-6 |
| June 29 | Indiana | 68-69 | Loss | 7-7 |
| July 3 | @ Minnesota | 70-78 | Loss | 7-8 |
| July 6 | Houston | 82-63 | Win | 8-8 |
| July 10 | Seattle | 70-65 | Win | 9-8 |
| July 12 | Sacramento | 51-67 | Loss | 9-9 |
| July 15 | @ Houston | 61-97 | Loss | 9-10 |
| July 16 | @ Indiana | 73-85 | Loss | 9-11 |
| July 18 | San Antonio | 77-71 | Win | 10-11 |
| July 21 | Connecticut | 68-78 | Loss | 10-12 |
| July 23 | Charlotte | 63-53 | Win | 11-12 |
| July 24 | @ New York | 69-78 | Loss | 11-13 |
| July 28 | @ Washington | 73-65 | Win | 12-13 |
| July 30 | New York | 88-79 | Win | 13-13 |
| August 1 | Minnesota | 58-59 | Loss | 13-14 |
| September 1 | Phoenix | 58-63 | Loss | 13-15 |
| September 4 | @ Charlotte | 66-58 | Win | 14-15 |
| September 8 | @ Seattle | 67-86 | Loss | 14-16 |
| September 9 | @ Los Angeles | 63-81 | Loss | 14-17 |
| September 11 | @ Phoenix | 80-72 | Win | 15-17 |
| September 14 | New York | 82-71 (OT) | Win | 16-17 |
| September 19 | Charlotte | 68-54 | Win | 17-17 |
Playoffs
edit| Game | Date | Opponent | Score | Result | Record |
| Eastern Conference Semifinals | |||||
| 1 | September 24 | New York | 62-75 | Loss | 0-1 |
| 2 | September 26 | @ New York | 76-66 | Win | 1-1 |
| 3 | September 28 | @ New York | 64-66 | Loss | 1-2 |
Player stats
editNote: GP = Games played; REB = Rebound; AST = Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points
| Player | GP | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS |
| Swin Cash | 32 | 208 | 135 | 44 | 29 | 526 |
| Deanna Nolan | 34 | 134 | 112 | 66 | 12 | 464 |
| Ruth Riley | 34 | 199 | 50 | 31 | 53 | 378 |
| Cheryl Ford | 31 | 297 | 34 | 41 | 25 | 329 |
| Merlakia Jones | 33 | 69 | 21 | 19 | 2 | 180 |
| Elaine Powell | 30 | 84 | 134 | 36 | 8 | 133 |
| Barbara Farris | 26 | 61 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 118 |
| Chandi Jones | 31 | 34 | 45 | 18 | 5 | 107 |
| Iciss Tillis | 31 | 39 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 83 |
| Isabel Sanchez | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 22 |
| Ayana Walker | 18 | 26 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 18 |
| Stacy Stephens | 7 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Jae Kingi-Cross | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Amisha Carter | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Stacey Thomas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |