Despite the return of injured power forward DeLisha Milton-Jones, the Washington Mystics committed 17 turnovers en route to a 96-83 loss to the Phoenix Mercury in front of 15,103 at Verizon Center on Wednesday afternoon.
“It all comes back to how badly we played on offense,” Mystics guard Alana Beard said. “We lost this game. Phoenix didn’t beat us. We lost it.”
The Mercury (10-12), led by guard Kelly Miller and forward Penny Taylor with 22 points apiece, capitalized on the Mystics’ inability to control the ball, scoring 21 points off Mystics turnovers.
The Mystics (11-11) started sluggish, converting only six of their first 20 shots as the Mercury jumped out to a 27-17 first quarter lead.
But Washington fought back, going on an 8-2 run that gave it a 50-48 halftime lead.
Beard sparked the offense by scoring 12 of her 23 points in the third quarter, including back-to-back three-pointers as the Mystics took a 71-69 lead into the fourth.
But it was not enough to overcome costly fourth quarter mistakes.
“In the fourth quarter we had seven possessions and committed six turnovers; that is 14 points right there,” Beard said. “That really hurt.”
Milton-Jones returns ahead of schedule
After spraining the MCL in her left knee more than a month ago, Mystics forward DeLisha Milton-Jones returned to the lineup Wednesday against Phoenix two weeks ahead of schedule.
Milton-Jones came off of the bench to tally nine points, three rebounds and three assists in 18 minutes.
“It felt real good,” Milton-Jones said. “Come the second half, I felt like I had my legs under me and I had control over everything I was doing.”
After playing a little one-on-one before the team’s game in Chicago on Sunday, Milton-Jones felt strong enough to take part in Tuesday’s practice. After gauging how well her knee reacted to the activity, Milton-Jones decided to play in Wednesday’s game after their morning shootaround.
“(My knee) feels good, it feels strong and it’s not even an issue,” Milton-Jones said.
Mystics coach Richie Adubato was surprised how quickly the versatile forward came back.
“She brings so many things to the table,” Adubato said. “The first thing is her defense and her rebounding and the second thing is her three-point shooting. The 54 percent clip leads the league, which helps to space out the other team’s defense.”
— Missy Rosenberg
