Katie Smith missed almost the entire second quarter because of foul trouble. Cheryl Ford has been out since the summer with a knee injury. And the Detroit Shock had to play in a college gym half the size of their regular home court.

In the end, none of it mattered.

The Shock overcame all of that in winning a third WNBA title in six seasons yesterday, beating the San Antonio Silver Stars, 76-60, in Game 3 at Ypsilanti, Mich. Detroit swept the league's best regular-season team, winning the clincher at Eastern Michigan University's Convocation Center, a venue forced upon them because of a scheduling conflict.

For Smith, the WNBA Finals MVP, the win meant a league championship less than two months after she and her U.S. teammates took gold in Beijing.

"Everybody battles on this team," she said.

Smith was lifted from the game with time running out as coach Bill Laimbeer emptied his bench to the ear-splitting delight of the crowd.

A few minutes later, she was sprinting back onto the court with her teammates to celebrate yet another championship as confetti rained down.

Detroit became the second team in league history to win a third championship. Only the Houston Comets, who won the first four (1997-2000), have more. Los Angeles (2001, 2002) is the only other team with more than one.

Zarkava won the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in Longchamp, France, with a powerful stretch run and became the first filly in 15 years to win the race. Zarkava was behind early but as the 16-horse field turned for home, jockey Christophe Soumillon urged on his unbeaten filly and she finished two lengths ahead of Youmzain. The last filly to win was Urban Sea in 1993. Wind and light rain softened the track on Europe's major middle-distance race over 1 1/2 miles.

Soumillion thumped his chest and blew kisses to the home crowd after winning. "This is the best present I could ever have," said the French jockey, who also won the race with Dalakhani in 2003. "Both [horses] had completely different characters, but the quality is the same. They are the two best moments of my life."

It's Gino and Soldier of Fortune dead-heated for third place. With a forecast of rain, Zarkava's trainer Alain de Royer-Dupre worried that a soft ground would hinder his filly's chances. However, there was only a light overnight drizzle, and it didn't both Zarkava as her burst of acceleration was just to good for her male rivals.

New No. 1 Jelena Jankovic won her second title in two weeks, defeating Nadia Petrova, 6-4, 6-3, in the final of the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany. Jankovic, 23, also won the China Open last week and the Italian Open earlier this year. "I am really proud of myself," she said. "I am playing with a lot of confidence and I played some good tennis this week." Jankovic was assured of taking the top ranking today from Serena Williams regardless of the outcome of the final. She already held the No. 1 spot for one week in August. Williams became the No. 1 after defeating Jankovic at the U.S. Open final, but the American will drop in the rankings after losing her opening match in Stuttgart.

• Sorana Cristea of Romania won her first WTA Tour title, rallying to beat Sabine Lisicki, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7), in the Tashkent Open final in Uzbekistan. Cirstea, seeded third and ranked 46th, hadn't dropped a set all week until losing the first to the fourth-seeded Lisicki.

• Alison Riske of Peters Township advanced to the second round of the qualifying at the Dick's Sporting Goods Women's Challenger at Oxford Athletic Club in Wexford. She defeated Joelle Kissell of Latrobe, 6-3, 6-1. Lauren Greco of Oakmont and Helena Van Eysendeyk, a native of France playing at California University of Pa., also lost in the first round. Kristy Borza, who played at Beaver High School and Pitt, withdrew because of an injury and Kissell replaced her in the draw.

CCAC-South defeated Garrett College, Md., 8-1, to win the Western Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference championship. Garrett advanced from the losers' bracket and defeated CCAC-South, 8-6, in an earlier game.