Washington assistant coach Jessie Kenlawaccurately forecast the Mystics’ slow start last weekend.
“Before the game she said, ‘I don’t like our warm-ups,’” said Mystics head coach Tree Rollins. “’We don’t look like we’re ready to go.’ She called it from the start.”
However, maybe it shouldn’t have been that hard to predict, as the Mystics (2-3) have struggled early in every game this season, averaging 12.5 points in the first quarter, including just 10 in their 70-59 loss to the star-studded Los Angeles Sparks.
“We’ve had five games, and in five games, we’ve gotten off to five slow starts so I wouldn’t say it’s the hype or anything like that,” said guard Alana Beard.
At least Washington has been able to recover and win twice. Defending WNBA-champion Phoenix, meanwhile, is winless, despite boasting two players already named to the U.S. Olympic team: Diana Taurasi and Cappie Pondexter.
Pondexter (26.8 points per game) and Taurasi (21.0 ppg) are the first- and third-leading scorers in the league, but the Mercury (0-4) are suffering from the absence of forward Penny Taylor (17.8 ppg, 4.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists in 2007), who is skipping the first portion of the WNBA season to prepare for the Olympics with the Australian national team.
