New York 79, Washington 60 (F)

NEW YORK, May 22 (AP) -- After a forgettable season opener, the New York Liberty bounced back with strong performances all around.

Shameka Christon and Cathrine Kraayeveld scored 17 points each to help the Liberty cruise to a 79-60 victory over the Washington Mystics on Thursday night.

"We worked really hard the last three days in practice,'' Christon said. "We weren't really satisfied with the last game we played, so I think we did a great job of coming out and showing that.''

New York (1-1) was coming off a 77-63 loss to Connecticut on Sunday in which the Liberty fell behind by 18 in the third quarter and were outrebounded by 17. They showed more energy from the opening tip against the Mystics, getting 11 offensive rebounds and scoring 12 second-chance points in the first half.

"I think that's very key for this team,'' Christon said. "We're a high energy team and we have to be aggressive from the start, and not the third quarter.

After starting 0-for-7 on 3-pointers in the first half against the Sun, the Liberty - tops in the league from beyond the arc last year - made four in the first quarter against Washington and finished 7-for-16 in the game.

New York had runs of 14-0 and 9-1 in the first half to take a 21-point lead at the break. The Liberty shot 46 percent from the field for the game and outrebounded Washington 37-34.

Taj McWilliams-Franklin had 26 points and 12 rebounds, and Alana Beard added 20 points for the Mystics (0-2), who won all three of their preseason games.

"We can't make ourselves get in a hole and then try to play out of it,'' McWilliams-Franklin said. "We have to play hard every minute. New York made some great shots. They're not slouches. They hit a lot of their 3-pointers that they missed in their game against Connecticut, and that sent them rolling.''

McWilliams-Franklin, who finished two points short of matching her career high, tried to single-handedly bring the Mystics back from the halftime deficit. The veteran forward scored Washington's first 12 points of the third quarter, pulling the Mystics to 52-37 on a layup with 5:21 left in the period.

"I think we were all pretty passive in the first half,'' said McWilliams-Franklin, who shot 11-for-21 from the field. "I wanted to come out loose and put a good effort and make sure they had to play us. If I come like that in the first half, we're going to have a better opportunity to win games. I cannot wait to see what's going to happen before I start playing hard.''

However, Christon hit her third 3 to push the lead back to 18. And after Andrea Gardner hit a free throw for the Mystics, Liberty rookies Essence Carson and Erlana Larkins made consecutive layups to push the lead back to 21.

"This is an intelligent group,'' Liberty coach Pat Coyle said. "The tape doesn't lie. They saw what we looked like, and we went after it for three days. You saw the fruits of that effort.''

Beard had a three-point play and hit two free throws, and McWilliams-Franklin hit a jumper to pull Washington to 67-54 with 5:05 left in the game, but that was as close as it got.

New York scored the next eight points and pushed the lead back to 21 on rookie Leilani Mitchell's three-point play with 2:36 to go.

Leading 11-10 in the first quarter, New York scored 14 consecutive points to take control. The Liberty made three consecutive 3s during the spurt - one by Loree Moore and two Christon.

A 9-1 run in late in the second quarter stretched the Liberty's lead to 46-23, their biggest of the game.

Liberty center Janel McCarville sprained her left thumb in the third quarter, but X-rays were negative.