As Laurie Koehn began shooting in the final round of the three-point contest, there was one little problem: she was so nervous she couldn’t feel her hands.
A minute later, a calmer Koehn was shootout champion, her 25 final-round points shattering the WNBA record of 19 and sending the hometown crowd at Verizon Center into an uproar.
“I just really didn’t have any blood in my arms for the first two [racks] because I was so nervous,” she said. “I felt like ‘Oh my gosh, I don’t feel good,’ but I think you settle down and you start to feel good once you get in a rhythm.”
It didn’t even take Koehn all five racks to win — the two-point money ball on the fourth rack gave her 20 points, besting Penny Taylor’s 19. Koehn’s 21 made threes in the final round were the same number she’s taken all season off the bench for the Mystics.
Despite Koehn’s limited chances during the year, Sunday’s victory came as no surprise to teammate Alana Beard, who said Koehn makes 500 shots before each game.
“She’s the best shooter in this league without a doubt,” Beard said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen aperson come in that’s as dedicated as her.”
