Already shorthanded because of forward DeLisha Milton-Jones’ knee injury, the Washington Mystics will be without guard Alana Beard for a second straight game tonight in Minnesota because of a severely sprained right ankle.
Beard is listed as day-to-day but Mystics coach Richie Adubato was overly pessimistic about Beard’s status as his team aims for just its third road win of the season.
“She’s been walking around with a crutch very gingerly,” Adubato said. “Sometimes a sprain like this can take a week to heal; sometimes it can take several weeks.”
Beard, who missed the first four games of the 2005 season with a sprained left ankle, leads the Mystics in scoring (18.9 points per game) and is sixth in the league.
“Playing without her is really, really, really difficult,” Mystics forward Nakia Sanford said. “She’s a player that creates a lot on offense for us, so to take that threat away it means the rest of us have to really step up our games.”
Center Chasity Melvin has helped pick up the scoring slack on the Mystics four-game road trip, which concludes tonight. In the 14 games before this trip Melvin averaged 11 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. In the last three road games those numbers jump to 18.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, an improvement not lost on her coach.
“Chasity is playing better than she has ever played before,” Adubato said. “Her stepping up like she has is an absolute necessity with two of our best players out.”
Washington Mystics (9-8) AT Minnesota Lynx (5-11)
» Where: Target Center, Minneapolis
» When: Tonight at 8
» Radio: WWRC-1260
