Sky-Mystics Preview

By JEFF BARTL
Posted May 18 2012 5:24PM

The Chicago Sky and Washington Mystics finished in the bottom two spots of the Eastern Conference last season, combining to lose their final nine contests.

Both teams, though, have heightened expectations heading into 2012, and they'll tip off their seasons Saturday night in the nation's capital.

Washington lost its final four games and finished last in the East at 6-28 in 2011, a disappointing season after reaching the conference finals the previous year. Monique Currie averaged career highs of 14.8 points and 4.8 rebounds in 2010, but a torn ACL kept her out of all but four games last season, leaving a huge hole the Mystics struggled to fill.

Crystal Langhorne did her best, averaging 18.2 points and 7.6 boards, and was rewarded with a four-year contract in the offseason. Washington also signed Michelle Snow and Dominique Canty from Chicago.

Matee Ajavon had a breakout season, averaging 14.7 points, though she sat out the team's final preseason game with a sore right knee and is questionable for the opener.

"We're excited about opening the season. We've put in a lot of hard work," coach Trudi Lacey said. "We feel we're ready mentally and physically to play. We're going to get after it and hopefully get a win."

Washington beat the Sky 73-68 in a preseason matchup May 10, playing strong in the paint despite Chicago holding a size advantage.

"We're not going to change our philosophy," Lacey said. "We want to play inside-out so we can go right at them."

The Sky also are happy to begin anew after dropping their final five games to finish 14-20 last season. They've yet to qualify for the playoffs in their five-year existence - a drought they hope to end after acquiring veterans Swin Cash and Ruth Riley to team with All-Stars Sylvia Fowles and Epiphanny Prince.

Cash and Riley led the then-Detroit Shock to a WNBA title in 2003, with Riley being named finals MVP. Riley added a championship with San Antonio in 2006, and Cash won a title with Seattle in 2010.

Chicago also signed Ticha Penicheiro and Le'coe Willingham, both of whom also have won championships.

"Just (have) to be on the same page," Fowles said of the new roster still trying to mesh. "We have had our spurts, we've been up and down (with) the inconsistent things that we did. If we can just all click together in the next few weeks, that would be great. We will just go from there."

Fowles averaged 20.0 points last season to rank third in the league and was second in rebounding at 10.2 per game. She also averaged a league-best 2.0 blocks and was named the WNBA defensive player of the year.

General manager and coach Pokey Chatman worked hard to bring in talent around an already solid core of Fowles, Prince and point guard Courtney Vandersloot, though the Sky aren't concerned with living up to expectations.

"We honestly haven't talked about it," Riley said. "We just come to work and realize we've got to take it one day at a time. We haven't earned anything yet. Our mentality is to get better and obviously get to the playoffs to see what can happen from there."

Chicago has won six straight meetings with Washington, including a four-game sweep in 2011.

Sylvia Fowles leads Sky past Mystics, 69-57

Posted May 19 2012 10:40PM

WASHINGTON (AP) Sylvia Fowles had 23 points and 12 rebounds and helped key a 29-8 first-half run in the Chicago Sky's 69-57 victory over the Washington Mystics on Saturday night in the season opener for both teams.

Epiphanny Prince scored 13 of her 16 points in the first half, and Swin Cash added 14 points in her first game for the Sky.

Crystal Langhorne led the Mystics with 16 points. Monique Currie, who missed all but four games last season because of a knee injury, added 14 points.

Chicago led by 15 points in the first half and 38-25 at halftime, but Washington opened the third quarter on an 8-0 run and pulled to 52-45 on Jasmine Thomas' basket late in the third quarter. The Mystics would get no closer as the Sky opened the fourth quarter on a 14-5 run, capped by Cash's second 3-pointer.

``We still have some wrinkles we have to straighten out, but this was a good start and definitely a test for us to see what we were made of,'' said Fowles, the reigning WNBA Defensive Player of the Year.

Dating to last season, the Mystics have lost five straight games and 14 of 15.

The Sky swept four games from the Mystics last season.

``I was not anticipating us coming out on the court with this type of effort,'' Mystics coach Trudi Lacey said.

Both teams struggled to maintain possession. The Mystics committed 23 turnovers - 16 in the first half - that led to 25 points for the Sky. Chicago finished with 21 turnovers.

``Decisions, passes, simple things like pass and catch the basketball. I would expect players with experience who have been in the league to make better decision than we did early on,'' Lacey said.

The Mystics hit their first three shots for a 6-0 lead, prompting Sky coach Pokey Chatman to call for a timeout with only 59 seconds elapsed. Chicago countered with six consecutive points of its own, took the lead for good at 9-8 on Cash's free throw and led 18-12 after the first quarter.

Another quick six points started the second quarter for the visitors and Prince's driving layup with 5:47 left in the half gave the Sky their largest lead at 31-16.

``It just went bad. Just a lot of turnovers, indecisiveness, not knowing where your teammates were going to be,'' Langhorne said. ``Some were just bad plays. All the turnovers we had really killed us.''

Both teams failed to qualify for the Eastern Conference postseason last year, and both significantly revamped their rosters accordingly.

The Sky's moves included acquiring three-time All-Star Cash in a trade with Seattle and signing free-agent center Ruth Riley. Washington returned only four players, including Langhorne and guard Matee Ajavon.

``I'm excited about the new faces that we have on the team, but at the same time it's still Chicago, nothing has changed,'' said Fowles, who has spent her entire five-year career with the Sky. ``Once we make it to the playoffs, that's when I'll be like it was worth it.''

• Sky: --
• Mystics: --

• Sky: --
• Mystics: --

• Lead Changes: 1
• Times Tied: 2

• Arena: Verizon Center, Washington, DC
• Officials: #4 Sue Blauch, #24 Tony Dawkins, #28 Angellica Suffren
• Attendance: 11415
• Duration: 1:51