The difference was that the Mystics this time were able to overcome themselves as well as the opponent and rally from nine points down in the fourth quarter to pull out a 64-63 win, just their fifth victory in 20 games this season.
“It’s really big for our confidence because we’ve playing so many close games and we’ve been losing every single one of them,” said Washington forward Crystal Langhorne, who made 8 of 9 field goal attempts in scoring a team-high 18 points.
“It could have went a lot of different ways. A lot of things are going against us lately, so it was the basketball gods helping us out.”
With the game tied at 60, Langhorne scored inside off a pass from DeMya Walker for a two-point lead with 2 minutes 13 seconds to play. New York guard Leilani Mitchell nailed a three-pointer at the other end, and a subsequent Mystics turnover spurred that familiar here-we-go-again feeling at Verizon Center.
Mystics guard Matee Ajavon sank two foul shots with 62 seconds left to put Washington up 64-63 before teammate Marissa Coleman pulled down her fifth defensive of the fourth quarter to give Washington possession.
Mystics guard Kelly Miller missed two foul shots with 4.4 seconds to play, and forward Plenette Pierson missed a potentially game-winning shot just before the buzzer for New York (13-10).
“Like I’ve said about this team all season, they’re a resilient group,” Mystics Coach Trudi Lacey said. “And they’ve got a lot of fight in them. We struggle a little bit offensively to get into the flow and figure out which five can play together on a particular night offensively. But our defense has sustained us and kept us in every single game this season.”
Washington outscored New York 40-24 in the paint and 15-5 on fast-break points.
The Mystics play at Connecticut on Saturday night and have a chance to post their first consecutive victories of the season.
Langhorne believes the team’s youth has helped it weather a difficult season.
“I honestly think sometimes it’s better that we have a young team because we have young people who are just going to keep playing to try to get better,” she said. “Sometimes with veteran teams people will throw in the towel. Not with our team. We’re going to keep fighting and still try to make a playoff run.”
●LYNX 79, SKY 76: Lindsay Whalen scored 16 points to lead Minnesota’s balanced scoring effort as the Lynx (17-5) won for the 10th time in 11 games and 12th in 14. Chicago fell to 10-14.
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