This time the excuse was the Washington Mystics were coming off a long layoff for the All-Star Game, a refrain no different than returning home after a long road trip, being halfway out the door before the All-Star break, or playing on a short turnaround.
Once again Washington started poorly, falling behind Houston by double-digits by the end of the first quarter. But in front of a midday Verizon Center crowd of 13,997 awash with children, the Mystics found inspiration in fickle treatment from the referees and rallied for a dominating stretch run in a 65-58 win over the Comets.
“We finally got our cup of coffee,” said Mystics head coach Tree Rollins. “It was delivered at halftime, and we were able to go out and be awake and alert and get a win.”
The Mystics (8-12), equaling a season-best third straight victory, closed the game on a 17-1 run, limiting the Comets (6-15) to a single free throw by Tina Thompson (14 points, 10 rebounds) in the final 5:59.
Washington’s switch to full court pressure rattled point guard Crystal Smith (12 points, four assists), who had one basket after halftime.
“She didn’t want to bring the ball up the court,” said Mystics guard Alana Beard (16 points). “When a point guard don’t have confidence, your team don’t haveconfidence.”
Although the Mystics were outrebounded, 25-15, and outscored, 36-22, in the first half, they took particular umbrage with officiating, where physical play by both teams (46 fouls combined) was punished inconsistently.
“I told everyone the energy that we’re putting into this one box, we need to take it and put it into our defensive end,” said Beard. “We did that the second half, and I’m glad at the way that we reacted.”
“I’m not taking anything away from the way we played because we had a tremendous win, but we can’t win like this,” said Beard. “But we can’t start in the first halves and expect to come back in the second half every single time. It’s impossible.”
Mystics
» Monique Currie led the Mystics with 16 points and career-high 11 rebounds. DeLisha Milton-Jones also had 11 points and 11 rebounds.
» Combined with Chicago’s loss to Indiana, Washington moved out of the cellar in the WNBA’s Eastern Conference for the first time this season. The Mystics are one and a half games out of the fourth-place playoff spot.
