If the Mystics can begin the 2008 season better than the reigning WNBA champions, certainly they also can finally put to rest any talk of last year’s horrendous 0-8 start.
With a gritty, 69-66 win over Houston in their home opener in front of an announced crowd of 10,441 at Verizon Center, the Mystics (1-2) have done both.
“You jump on the Web site and see that Phoenix lost, then we lost, then Phoenix lost, then we lost, then Pheonix lost, and we won,” said Mystics head coach Tree Rollins. “So right I’m feeling pretty good about ourselves.”
Alana Beard paced the home team with 16 points and four assists, but crucial contributions of reserves Coco Miller (10 points, two steals) and Laurie Koehn (12 points, 4-for-6 from 3-point range) made the difference as four of Washington’s five starters failed to reach double figures.
Miller scored six points in the final five minutes, including turning a loose ball into a game-winning layup with 20.9 seconds remaining.
“Knowing we can finish a game like that when it’s close at the end, knowing we have the discipline to finish it off is very important,” said Miller.
It took more than four minutes for Beard to score Washington’s first points, but with two threes from Koehn, and a couple first-half buckets each from rookies Crystal Langhorne (eight points, 4-for-4 from the field) and Krystal Vaughn (two blocks), the Mystics composed themselves and pulled ahead, 30-27, by halftime.
They stretched that margin to 39-32 early in the third quarter, but the Comets rallied to go up, 57-52, by midway through the final period — a stretch that also saw starting point guard Nikki Blue lost to an ankle injury.
Tina Thompson led the Comets (0-2) with 17 points and nine rebounds.
