Alana Beard proved her last time out that she doesn't have to lead the Washington Mystics in scoring to guide her team to a win.

Despite a physical game the last time out, Beard is expected to be back on the floor Thursday when the Mystics visit the New York Liberty.

Beard missed about 11 minutes after halftime due to a contusion about her right eye, but returned with 4:35 left to help Washington (8-12) to a 69-64 win over Connecticut on Sunday. Beard, who also hyperextended her knee 14 seconds into the fourth, made a basket with 37 seconds left - Washington's only field goal in the final 9:28.

Beard's return to the game helped the Mystics hold off the Sun, who held an eight-point edge in the final period. However, she finished with nine points - nearly nine off her team-leading average.

Over her last three games, Beard has averaged only 8.7 points. She hasn't reached double figures in any of those contests - the first time this season she has failed to score 10 points in consecutive games.

Nonetheless, the Mystics have won twice over that span.

Nikki Blue scored a career-high 13 points, including a pair of free throws with 17.8 seconds left, and Taj McWilliams-Franklin added 11 points and 10 rebounds.

McWilliams-Franklin had 26 points and Beard added 20 in Washington's first game against New York (11-9) this season, a 79-60 loss at Madison Square Garden. Shameka Christon and Cathrine Kraayeveld each scored 17 for the Liberty.

Christon had 14 points and Kraayeveld added 11 in New York's 77-71 win over the Sun on Tuesday. Christon leads the Liberty with 17.3 points per game.

Lisa Willis chipped in a career-high 18 points for the Liberty, who have won four of their last six. Willis, who is averaging a career-best 5.4 points, made four of New York's 10 3-pointers.

"Lisa did the things she's really good at," coach Pat Coyle said. "She's a good shooter. We were able to penetrate and give her some open looks."

New York held Connecticut scoreless over a span of 5:10 in the fourth period.

"We were just trying to play our game," Willis said. "The first half we were a little stagnant. We came in at halftime and said to just play our game, execute, play better defense and rebound because they were killing us on the boards. We had to get back to playing team basketball."