She knew she wasn’t quite going to make it.
Lunging toward the sideline for a loose ball late in the first quarter Wednesday against Phoenix, Washington forward DeLisha Milton-Jones made sure if she couldn’t reach it, no one could. She offered a slight nudge to her Mercury opponent, just enough to send the ball out of bounds in favor of the Mystics.
The move may not quite have been exactly legal, but Milton-Jones’ effort on the play — the kind of hustle Washington hadn’t shown in its winless eight-game start — paid immediate dividends, as Nikki Blue nailed a 3-pointer at the other end of the floor on the ensuing possession.
“It’s like we’re a bunch of piranhas, and we smell a little blood in the water. Everybody wants a piece of that,” said Milton-Jones. “Those plays are huge for us, and those are the plays we weren’t getting in the first eight games.”
In their first victory of the year, the Mystics (1-8) were more unselfish as a team and received a solid contribution from the bench. Washington racked up a season-high 18 assists — two better than in the season-opening loss to Connecticut — and the second unit shot 57.1 percent (12-for-21) from the field.
“They all got in there and turned it around for us,” said starting guard Alana Beard. “They sucked it up, got on the defensive end. We got through the first quarter and the second quarter with me and [Milton-Jones] on the bench.”
For the first time this season, three bench players each accounted for more than 17 minutes on the floor, including recent acquisition Monique Currie, whose career-high 25 points came in 31 minutes.
It’s a performance that would be a strong argument for her inclusion in the starting lineup tonight against Los Angeles, especially given head coach Tree Rollins assertion that “there are no starters.”
“That’s not something I’m focused on,” said Currie. “[Tamara James has] been playing very well, and when my call comes, I’ll be ready to get in the game, and do what I need to do.”
Los Angeles Sparks (4-2) at Mystics (1-8)
When » Tonight, 7
Where » Verizon Center
Radio » 1260 AM
