Washington Mystics win WNBA's Eastern Conference

ATLANTA - As the visitors poured pressure and points on the Atlanta Dream on Sunday afternoon, one thing was glaringly apparent. These were not the Washington Mystics everyone had grown accustomed to over the first 12 years of franchise history.

The mediocrity and lack of optimism that were so commonplace in previous seasons have been replaced by swagger and an expectation of success that were on display as Washington didn't squander an opportunity to prove how far it has come.

With an unrelenting focus, the Mystics established an early lead that grew to 24 points and hovered around that mark for nearly half of the contest as they handled Atlanta easily, 90-81, on the last day of the WNBA's regular season to clinch the first Eastern Conference regular season title in organization history.

The victory gave Washington its sixth straight win, the No. 1 seed heading into the postseason and home court advantage through at least the first two rounds of the playoffs. The Mystics (22-12) will face the fourth-seeded Dream (19-15) in the first round, a best-of-three series that begins Wednesday at Verizon Center.

"We all just wanted that number one seed without having to depend on other teams for it," said forward Crystal Langhorne, who tallied 18 points and 11 rebounds for her 16th double-double. "We had our little slumps earlier this year, but this is the best time for us to be playing really well, the end of the season. We're all happy about this, but we want to win the championship. And why not? Why can't we win it? That's our goal."

Washington's win negated any impact by the outcome of games played by fellow playoff-bound East opponents. New York (22-12), earned the second seed after defeating Connecticut, 88-87, in overtime. It held the tiebreak against Indiana.

Although Washington and New York are in a two-way tie with overall records, the Mystics hold the top spot because of a better head-to-head record. Atlanta could not improve upon its fourth-place ranking regardless of the outcome Sunday.

The Mystics took about five minutes to settle in for the high-stakes contest, starting with a 4-for-14 shooting performance in front of the 9,570 in Philips Arena, but their determination to control their own fate quickly showed.

A 13-2 run that stretched from the first quarter into the second allowed Washington to establish a 30-16 lead that was a sign of things to come.

Fueled by a dominant inside game - Washington outscored Atlanta in the paint 46-30 - the Mystics expanded the lead and capitalized on 10 turnovers in the first half.

Conversely, Washington, which entered the contest with the second-highest turnover average (17.38) in the league and has long struggled to quell its own miscues, committed only four turnovers and took a 54-37 lead into halftime.

"We took care of the ball and that's the key for us," said Coach Julie Plank, who has led the team to back-to-back postseason appearances for the first time in franchise history in her two years at the helm. "We're a really good shooting percentage team, so we have to limit those turnovers to get more chances, especially when we're not shooting well at the beginning. Our rebounding was huge too, we came in knowing it couldn't just be Langhorne. We needed a group effort on this one and we got it."

Anchored by towering Erika De Souza (6-feet-5, 190 pounds) and Sancho Lyttle (6-4, 175), Atlanta has consistently been one of the top rebounding teams in the league. But Washington allowed only Lyttle (11 rebounds) to haul in more than five boards. Meanwhile, Langhorne and Chasity Melvin led the Mystics with 11 and 9 rebounds, respectively, but every player on the roster added at least one to make sure Washington won the rebounds, 48-36.

"I think we can rebound with them, they're so big but we're a good rebounding team too," Langhorne said. "When we're able to battle on the boards with them and slow their transition game down at the same time, we've been successful."

It wasn't until the fourth quarter that the Mystics' lead reached its most inflated at a 24-point edge, but the Dream fought to shrink the deficit to single digits in those final 10 minutes. Atlanta finally started to haul in the rebounds that are so crucial to jump-start its offensive style of play and tallied 30 points.

For a team that prides itself on defense, allowing an opponent such a big surge didn't sit well with the Mystics and had a temporary dampening effect on their victory.

But it also reminded Washington of how it must maintain the focus that helped it dominate the majority of the contest when the playoffs begin.

"You almost hate when you have a big lead like that early and keep it for so long," said Melvin, who last appeared in the playoffs during her first stint with the Mystics in 2006. "Early on it showed how focused we were, but it's hard to maintain that focus throughout. They're going to be ready Wednesday and we know that we've got to be equally prepared to protect that home court we wanted so much."