Beard Helps Mystics Get Up Off the Mat

Mystics 69, Comets 66

The mood following the Washington Mystics' first win of the season yesterday should have been jovial. They overcame another slow performance early in the game to buck the nagging memory of last season's 0-8 start, but coupled with the happiness of a victory came more uncertainty at their most vulnerable position.

As if Washington didn't have enough concerns with a corps of young point guards trying to learn on the fly, starter Nikki Blue fell hard and sprained her right ankle late in the third quarter of the Mystics' 69-66 win over the Houston Comets (0-2) and did not return. Team officials said she could miss two to six weeks; she will be reevaluated tomorrow.

Coach Tree Rollins turned to Alana Beard at point guard rather than backup Amber Jacobs, who has struggled with turnovers this season. While Beard provides a reliable option in Blue's absence, using her as the team's key ballhandler could decrease her scoring chances significantly; she scored just five of her team-high 16 points after Blue's injury.

Although the Mystics were forced to mix and match their lineup, they were finally able to rebound from yet another sluggish start.

Washington (1-2) came out flat for the third straight time, unable to score until the 5:53 mark of the first quarter of their home opener at Verizon Center. Their possessions were marred by turnovers and their defense lacked the urgency to stop forward Tina Thompson, until Rollins turned to his bench.

First it was rookie forward Crystal Langhorne, who quickly scored six points after coming in at the end of the first quarter to tie the game at 14. Then, when Rollins looked to keep Houston's defense from clogging up the inside, Laurie Koehn stepped in and immediately hit a three-pointer.

Koehn hit another three in the closing minutes of the half to give the Mystics their first lead at 28-27, and by halftime they held a 30-27 advantage thanks in part to 14 second-quarter points from the bench.

"You've gotta love Laurie," Rollins said of the fourth-year guard who scored 12 points. Houston "tried to stop us inside and when they went zone, immediately we put Laurie in. She made a couple threes and they got out of the zone. They tried to go zone again and we put her back in. Laurie's a game changer."

Said Koehn: "I'm the kind of player who needs a lot of help to get open, though, so when I do it's a credit to my teammates."

Washington carried that momentum into the second half, building a 39-32 lead early in the third quarter. Houston, though, increased the tempo and scored eight points off of six Mystics turnovers to help the Comets climb back within 47-45 entering the fourth.

As the game pressed on, the teams exchanged baskets, with neither Washington nor Houston claiming more than a one-point advantage in the final two minutes.

With 45 seconds remaining, Houston's Thompson made 1 of 2 free throws to give the Comets a 66-65 lead. During the Mystics' next possession the ball changed hands four times as players dove to the floor scrambling to regain control.

"The ball kept bouncing around," said reserve guard Coco Miller, who started the madness with a turnover at the baseline. "Nakia [Sanford] and [Monique Currie] were both in the pile with their hands on it and somehow it got loose so I grabbed it."

With the ball back in her hands, Miller (10 points) tossed in an easy layup for a 67-66 advantage. After forward Taj McWilliams-Franklin intercepted a pass with 2.9 seconds remaining, Houston fouled Beard, who scored the game's final two points from the free throw line.

"We needed this game," Miller said. "You could see that at the end with the urgency and intensity that we played with that this was huge for us."