Washington 69, Houston 66
WASHINGTON, May 25 (AP) -- Alana Beard hit two free throws with 2.1 seconds remaining as the Washington Mystics won their home opener with a 69-66 victory over the Houston Comets on Sunday.
Coco Miller's steal and layup with 21 seconds left gave Washington the lead at 67-66.
Beard led the Mystics (1-2) with 16 points and Miller scored 10 off the bench. Fellow reserve Laurie Koehn added 12 points on four 3-pointers.
Tina Thompson paced the Comets (0-2) with 17 points and Tamecka Dixon added 10 points, but she missed a 3-pointer from the right wing at the buzzer to force overtime.
The tight fourth quarter had one tie and three lead changes in the final 1:24, starting with Miller tying the score at 62 with a left baseline jumper.
Comets guard
Her free throw put the Mystics on top 65-64, but the Comets pulled ahead on two free throws from Thompson.
On the Mystics' next possession, Miller forced a pass that the Comets picked off, but she stayed with the ball and took it away from Thompson for the go-ahead layup.
The turnovers continued -- 22 for the Comets, 19 for the Mystics -- as Maiga-Ba's pass to Sancho Lyttle under the basket was off target and the ball ended up with Beard, who was fouled.
The Mystics bench provided a lift for their sluggish offense with 34 points, including 18 in the first half. Koehn hit two 3-pointers during a closing 12-4 run as the Mystics led 30-27 at halftime.
