The 2006 WNBA season, the league’s 10th, went all the way to the wire. This year’s title was decided in the fifth game of a five-game final series, where the 2003 champion Detroit Shock outplayed the defending champion Sacramento Monarchs. At times the Monarchs appeared en route to easy victory — winning games one and three by large margins. But each time they reached the brink of defeat, the Shock battled back.