Auburn Hills, MI (AHN) - The defending champion Detroit Shock beat the Minnesota Lynx 85-75 Tuesday night to improve to 2-0 on the young season thanks to the play of all-star shooting guard Deanna Nolan and backup forward Plenette Pierson.

Nolan scored 21 points and Pierson added 12 on 6-for-6 shooting off the bench.

Pierson said a lot of her open opportunities come from the Shock having so many viable scoring options.

"I'm not looking to jump-start the offense - my mind-set is always defense,'' said Pierson. "But we have so many great scorers that the other team isn't paying much attention to me, and my teammates have been able to get me the ball.''

Nolan, last year's WNBA Finals MVP, was virtually unstoppable against the Lynx, but she praised Pierson early season contributions.

"She's been real big,'' Nolan said. "She's given us some great bench production, and she gets our defense going.''

"She's our go-to guard," Shock point guard Katie Smith added. "She makes plays on both ends of the floor."

The Shock (2-0) also got 15 points from Cheryl Ford (whose six steals tied a team record) and 11 from Swin Cash..

The Lynx were led by Seimone Augustus who scored 19 points. Nicole Ohlde and Amber Jacobs each added 14 points.

"It's a learning process, but we're going to have to learn fast,'' Augustus said. "This league really doesn't give you much time to figure it out.''

The Shock led by as much as 19 points before Minnesota made a late push in the fourth quarter, getting within 76-66.

Shock head coach Bill Laimbeer quickly put Nolan back in the game and she nailed a jump shot from the line to seal the game.