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Washington Mystics' Lindsey Harding, right, drives to the basket around Connecticut Sun's Lindsay Whalen on Saturday. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
“I think this team has great, great potential,” said first year head coach Julie Plank after the game. “And we’re not satisfied.”
The Dream, who beat the Indiana Fever in a double overtime game Saturday night, took a 10-1 lead against the Mystics in the first quarter before Matee Ajavon sparked the Mystics’ offense with a three point shot to start the second.
“I thought Matee Ajavon came into the game and really changed things for us,” Planksaid. “We were kind of so-so, and then she just sparked us…People fed off that.”
Ajavon also got the crowd roaring with her pre-game introduction dance moves, which she told DCist took her all of two seconds to choreograph.
The Mystics scored 30 points in the second quarter to take the lead 38-30 at halftime. Alana Beard, who led the team in points last year but didn’t play at all in the preseason, finished with a game-high 27 points against Atlanta, while Crystal Langhorne followed up with 10. Much heralded rookie Marissa Coleman had a solid opening weekend, leading the team Saturday with 16 points and finishing with 9 against Atlanta.
“We have a lot of depth,” Plank said of the Mystics’ roster. “We’re bringing people off the bench that could be starters.”
The Dream's Angel McCoughtry, the WNBA's top draft pick, fouled out in the final minutes of the fourth quarter with 10 points.
The Mystics next face the defending WNBA champion Detroit Shock on the road Wednesday, then visit the Dream in Atlanta. You can catch them at home again on June 20 against Chicago. Also, be prepared: the Mystics have started a new tradition of asking fans to stand until the team scores its first basket at home games, which they did Sunday, sitting down only after Nikki Sanford made a free throw shot with 6:48 left in the first.
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You're kidding, right? How many people attend these games - 300? 400? The only reason the league still exists is because the NBA subsidizes it. There are no doubt high school sports teams in the DC area that have more fans than the Mystics.
If the Mystics win and no one is there, did it really happen? Furthermore, if a WNBA team plays does it really matter? Remember they were giving season tickets away to Caps fans who bought season ticket plans. I'd rather have coverage of H Street putt-putt, than read about this drivel.
You are clearly a misogynist bent on furthering the patriarchal domination of sports coverage.
Really? You know nothing about me. Have you watched women's sports? Have you coached women's sports? I have done both, and I am by no means a misogynist, jackhole. Womens' basketball to me and to the majority of the country is a snooze fest. I would rather watch Women's hockey, which is quite competitive and was actually more skilled than men's hockey before the NHL changed their rules around to highlight skilled play. After that I would gladly watch women's volleyball, softball, and/or soccer over basketball. Have another ignorant retort there, hypersensitive?
I was joking
I was joking
There were over 11,000 at the game yesterday. There was day, when the Mystics filled every seat in the Verizon center. Maybe this team will do it again. It was a terrific game yesterday.
If you're counting on your "pro" womens' hoop team to justify your existence as a winning sports town, well, that's just sad. I didn't think anything could be lower than holding up your local soccer club as "proof" of a winning sports culture, but I stand corrected.
hey elisabeth thanks for covering women's sports--don't let these bezoars slow you down.
The game was fantastic, you folks are silly for being so dismissive of a really good time.
"Best franchise start" at 2-0? Wow, That's even better than a "best franchise start" at 1-0!
2-0! 2-0!
The WNBA is a snoozefest, but don't doubt its popularity. I was unfortunate enough to try to go get something to eat in Chinatown right when the Mystics game let out Sunday. It was impossible. Thousands of women everywhere and plus a few boyfriends and dads. Easily twice as many people as a Wizards game.