“When you lose some close games, I think toward the end [of games] it makes you wonder a little bit,” Mystics Coach Trudi Lacey said. “I thought we had overcome that when we came back against L.A.” when Washington rallied from a 24-point deficit to win in overtime on July 17.
“But it’s really about consistency. We’re making some mental mistakes and some bad decisions down the stretch. Every game, with the exception of Tulsa, we’ve had an opportunity to win.”
Washington’s ability to turn up its defensive pressure in spurts led to 14 lead changes and six ties. But the Silver Stars (10-5) — who average a league-low 12.4 turnovers per game — scored 18 points off of Mystics turnovers.
Crystal Langhorne, responsible for a team-high seven turnovers, scored 19 points to lead Washington. Marissa Coleman added 11 points and seven rebounds, and Matee Ajavon chipped in with 10 points.
San Antonio shot 46 percent from the field, including 40 percent from behind the three-point line. Becky Hammon led all scorers with 22 points, including three three-pointers and 7-for-7 shooting from the foul line.
The Silver Stars held a 51-44 lead with 1 minute 9 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Lacey called a timeout and the Mystics responded with a 7-0 run to tie the score at 51 entering the fourth quarter.
Ajavon’s fadeaway jumper continued the run at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but then the Mystics turned over the ball five times, leading to five points by San Antonio.
The Mystics trailed by six with 1:11 remaining when Jasmine Thomas made an errant pass sealing the fifth consecutive win for San Antonio at Verizon Center. The fourth-quarter fade echoed Washington’s 86-79 defeat to Atlanta last Wednesday.
“I think it’s at that point where we have to make that big leap, if we want to win some games and make it to the playoffs,” Coleman said. “Its gonna take us just buckling down and starting to play to win. We go into the fourth quarter either up or tied and we’re playing passive so we just have to play more aggressive.”
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LYNX 85, SPARKS 72: Seimone Augustus scored 22 points as host Minnesota won for the sixth time in seven games. Lindsay Whalen had 16 points and seven assists for the Lynx, who never trailed. Minnesota scored a franchise-record 35 points off of 25 Los Angeles turnovers.
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SUN 77, SKY 66: In Rosemont, Ill., Asjha Jones scored 22 points, Tina Charles had 21 and Connecticut broke open a close game against Chicago in the third quarter. Kara Lawson and Renee Montgomery added 14 points each for the Sun, winner of four straight.
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DREAM 76, SHOCK 68: Angel McCoughtry scored a career-high 37 points as visiting Atlanta held off Tulsa. Coco Miller added 12 points to help the Dream snap a three-game road losing streak. McCoughtry shot 11 for 22 from the field and 15 for 19 on free throws.
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STORM 83, MERCURY 77: Sue Bird had 18 points, seven assists, five rebounds and three steals as Seattle won in Phoenix.
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