Back-to- Back, Then Forward

Mystics Hit the Road For Crucial Early Games

The second and third games of a regular season can hardly be called must-win situations, but the Washington Mystics' two road games against the Indiana Fever and the New York Liberty potentially have long-term ramifications. Washington can take an early lead in the Eastern Conference race with wins against these two playoff teams from a year ago.

The Mystics will play at Indiana today followed by a game in New York on Sunday afternoon.

"It's a huge weekend for us," forward Stacey Dales-Schuman said. "Back-to-back games in any circumstance are tough. To have a back-to-back situation early I think is advantageous because we might see that later on. To experience it early and learn how to deal with it, that's going to be important."

Washington started off the season well with its 74-70 win in Charlotte last week. Forward Chamique Holdsclaw was outstanding, scoring 22 points and setting a WNBA single-game record with 24 rebounds. Dales-Schuman also performed well, finishing with 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting.

Last year, the Mystics capitalized on their season-opening victory by winning nine of their next 11 games. Their strong beginning led to their best season in franchise history. Washington would like nothing more than a similar start to this season.

"I think we're going to see that each game along the way has the potential to be a turning point game," Coach Marianne Stanley said. "They're all big."

Indiana opened its season with a 66-57 loss at Charlotte on Thursday. Forward Tamika Catchings, last season's WNBA rookie of the year, led the Fever with 19 points. Former Mystics guard Nikki McCray added 11 points.

Like Washington, Indiana has high expectations for this season. The Fever is coming off its first postseason appearance and boasts a superstar-in-the-making in Catchings. Indiana fans are so excited about the season that they bought a franchise-record 17,000 tickets for tonight's game.

"It will have right away the feel of a playoff environment," Stanley said. "No matter what the outcome is, that helps us to understand what the season is going to be about."

Holdsclaw will try to follow up her record-setting night in Charlotte with another milestone performance in Indiana. She needs nine points for 2,000 in her career and two rebounds for 1,000. If she reaches these marks tonight, she will become the first WNBA player to do so in the same game. She also would become the third-fastest to score 2,000 points and the fourth-fastest to grab 1,000 rebounds.

Washington has a little extra incentive entering its game against New York, which opens its season in Cleveland tonight. The Mystics pushed the Liberty to three games in the Eastern Conference finals before being eliminated.

"That will serve as motivation, not just because of last year but because New York is a very good team," Dales-Schuman said. "We respect them. We know what it's like to play in New York and we're prepared for the challenge."

New York holds a 5-3 advantage against Washington at Madison Square Garden. The Liberty poses problems for the Mystics with its strong, physical play.

"We want to go there and play well," point guard Annie Burgess said. "It's hard to win in the Garden."