Mystics-Dream Preview

By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN
Posted Jun 08 2011 1:14PM

Injuries are already plaguing the Atlanta Dream and Washington Mystics one game into the season.

Each team had key players miss openers, and it's uncertain who will be available Thursday night when the Dream's Lindsey Harding faces her former team for the first time.

This is the first meeting between these clubs since Atlanta (0-1) swept Washington (0-1) in the first round of last year's playoffs, and both come into the rematch short-handed.

The Dream played without Angel McCoughtry in a 94-88 overtime loss to New York on Sunday. McCoughtry, who averaged a team-high 21.1 points in 2010, is day to day after spraining her left knee in training camp.

"Angel brings so much to our game," coach Marynell Meadors said. "When you take away 25 or 30 points, it affects the rest of the team."

The Mystics were missing Alana Beard during an 89-73 defeat at Connecticut on Saturday. Beard, who sat out all of last season due to an ankle injury, is currently out with a bruised left foot.

Washington lost Monique Currie to a season-ending knee injury over the winter, and the injury situation worsened when rookie Ta'Shia Phillips suffered an ankle strain against the Sun.

Beard and Phillips did not practice Tuesday, and the Mystics could be down to eight players Thursday.

"We are going to focus on the players that we have," coach Trudi Lacey said. "They're working very hard, getting better every day."

Phillips was the eighth overall selection in the draft and part of the trade that brought Harding to Atlanta and sent Georgia native Kelly Miller to the Mystics.

Harding had nine points and nine assists in her Atlanta debut. She was a key factor in Washington earning the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference a season ago.

The Mystics, however, faltered in the playoffs as the fourth-seeded Dream dominated the postseason matchup. McCoughtry averaged 24.5 points in the series and Iziane Castro Marques 20.0 for Atlanta, which scored 98.0 points per game and shot 51.1 percent.

Poor defense was also Washington's undoing in its opener as it allowed Connecticut to shoot 57.1 percent and go 8 of 16 from 3-point range.

"We have to step up on the defensive end," Lacey said. "More pressure on the ball, contest 3s better, play better transition defense. Those are the things that we've focused on during practice and hopefully we'll see a different defensive effort in Atlanta."

Langhorne, Anosike give Mystics boost for OT win

By GEORGE HENRY
Posted Jun 09 2011 10:11PM

ATLANTA (AP) Crystal Langhorne had 30 points and 13 rebounds, Nicky Anosike added 29 points and 13 boards, and the Washington Mystics beat the Atlanta Dream 98-90 in overtime on Thursday night.

Matee Ajavon scored 24 points and Kelly Miller had 10 against for the Mystics (1-1), who were without Alana Beard (bruised foot) and rookie center Ta'Shia Phillips (ankle).

Erika DeSouza, who missed the final 2:44 of overtime with an apparent nose injury, led the Dream (0-2) with 20 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Iziane Castro Marques scored 16 points, Armintie Price added 12, Lindsey Harding had 11 and Sancho Lyttle 10.

Angel McCoughtry returned from a knee injury for Atlanta, but played just 3 minutes, going 1 for 4 from the field for two points.

Langhorne's putback capped the Mystics' 8-0 run that gave them an 82-80 lead - their first since late in the first quarter - with 4:35 left in regulation.

Castro Marques' 16-footer put Atlanta ahead 85-82, but after Miller's 3-pointer tied it, Harding missed a wild runner that would've won the game at the regulation buzzer.

Miller's straightaway jumper gave the Mystics a two-point lead in overtime, and Washington never trailed in the final 5 minutes.

Shalee Lehning scored the Dream's only two baskets of overtime.

In a rematch of a WNBA first-round playoff series that Atlanta won 2-0 last season, the Mystics pulled within two points when Ajavon's made it 77-75 with 7:57 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The teams were playing for the first time since a draft-day deal sent Harding to the Dream in exchange for Miller and Phillips.

Kerri Gardin - signed by the Mystics earlier in the day with Beard, Phillips and Monique Currie (out for the year) injured - finished with three points, three rebounds, five rebounds and a game-high six steals in 21 minutes.

• Mystics: --
• Dream: --

• Mystics: --
• Dream: --

• Lead Changes: 6
• Times Tied: 6

• Arena: Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA
• Officials: #4 Sue Blauch, #24 Tony Dawkins, #53 Jeff Smith
• Attendance: 5020
• Duration: 2:32