The Washington Mystics have a new look and it isn’t because six players are in their first season with the team. They added something that missing from last year’s squad — a smiling Alana Beard.
Despite being named to her first All-Star team last season, the Mystics guard knew something was missing from her game. Throughout her childhood and time as a player at Duke, Beard said she was always one of the happiest people on the court, smiling and laughing her way through the ups and downs of the game. But that changed during her second season in the WNBA.
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“I think after last year, we really underachieved as a team, and I saw a change in me, my family saw a change in me,” Beard said. “I’m always a happy-go-lucky person, but I wasn’t smiling anymore like I used to.”
She was frustrated that basketball had overtaken her entire life, leaving her no little away from the court. That frustration followed Beard overseas this past off-season when she played in professional leagues in both Australia and South Korea.
But it was her time down under when Beard began seeing ways to create balance in her life.
“The Australians have a different type of culture; they’re just so laid back,” Beard said. “They work when they have to work but they have fun when it’s time to have fun. That’s where I started to understand the balance.”
That new balance between the game and her life away from the court shows in her play. She is averaging a team-high 19.8 points per game, up from 14.1 last season. And her explosive presence on both ends of the court has impressed her coach and teammates, making her a true team leader in just her third WNBA season.
“The thing about Alana, to me, this year is that she’s playing with supreme confidence on both ends,” said Mystics coach Richie Adubato. “For her to score those kinds of points and play the way she is and also have her defend with that kind of pressure, that’s remarkable”
Mystics starting point guard Nikki Teasley, acquired in an off-season trade with the Los Angeles Sparks in exchange for Tameka Johnson and Murriel Page, said when her old Sparks’ team faced Beard and the Mystics, she was too good to stop so their focus was on the rest of the team.
“When you have someone as athletic as Alana you figure that she’s going to get hers so you just try and stop everyone else,” Teasley said.
Teasley also said Beard’s new attitude and leadership are a big reason why the Mystics are 4-2 for the first time since 2002.
“I’m excited to be on the team with her, she’s fun to watch and she’s fun to play with,” Teasley said. “She’s been setting the tone early on offense and defense and the rest of the team has been following her lead.”
For now, having fun and winning go hand-in-hand for Beard and the Mystics.
“When you make shots, you play great defense, you make great passes, everyone is in it, everyone ishaving fun, everyone is chest bumping and really enthused about the game,” Beard said. “And that’s when it becomes fun.”
Washington Mystics (4-2) at Connecticut Sun (5-1)
Where: Mohegan Sun Arena
When: Sunday, 4 p.m.
TV: Comcast SportsNet, NBA TV
Radio: WWRC-1260
