The first time the Washington Mystics and the Detroit Shock met this season the Shock’s all-star power forward, Cheryl Ford, missed the game with an ankle injury.
When they meet again today in Detroit, the Mystics will be shorthanded. It will be Washington’s second game without their all-star power forward, DeLisha Milton-Jones, who is out with a sprained MCL.
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With Ford out the Mystics easily beat the Shock, 92-68. They know things won’t be the same this time around.
“It will be a difficult game for us,” Mystics center Chasity Melvin said. “It’s on the road, they’re at full strength and we’re not. So we know that everyone on our team is going to have to contribute for us to win.”
The loss of the 6-foot-1 Jones puts the already undersized Mystics at a distinct disadvantage, especially against a Shock team that has eight players that stand 6-foot or taller.
“When we used to bring Crystal [Robinson] out we could slide DeLisha over to [small forward] and bring in Nakia [Sanford] so we became a bigger team,” Mystics coach Richie Adubato said. “But without that big [small forward] you’re not getting bigger anymore.”
Today’s game is the first in a tough stretch for the Mystics. Their next five games are against teams with winning records. Making matters worse, three of the games are on the road, where the Mystics are an abysmal 1-4.
Washington Mystics (7-4) at Detroit Shock (6-4)
» Where: The Palace of Auburn Hills
» When: Today at noon
» Radio: WWRC-1260 AM
