The Washington Mystics appreciate that Alana Beard is ultimate teammate, a selfless player who doesn’t think of herself first. But she’s also one of the WNBA’s best playmakers, so they wouldn’t mind if she got her scoring going just a little earlier.
In the Mystics’ last eight games, a season-best stretch that includes six wins, Beard (team high 18.4 points per game) didn’t reach double-figures before halftime once and scored more than half of her points in the first two quarters just twice.
“I’ve been getting in trouble a little bit, starting out getting everyone involved first,” said Beard, who also averages a team-high 3.3 assists. “But to me, if I see something that’s working, I’m going to stick with it. I know that I can get my points and score at any point, and I think it’s very imperative for us to start out executing, and sometimes that is at my expense. I’m fine with it as long as we win games.”
But on a team that already has a nasty penchant for starting slow, the more minutes Beard isn’t on the scoresheet, the more tenuous Washington’s playoff hopes become.
“It would be nice to get her going in the beginning,” said Mystics teammate Monique Currie. “But Alana’s a great player, and she’ll find ways to get baskets and try to help us win. So that’s her and what she needs to do, but I think we would all agree that she needs to get started a little bit earlier.”
Mystics (8-12) at Minnesota Lynx (5-17)
When » Tonight, 8
Where » Target Center, Minneapolis
Radio » 1260 AM
