By Jeff Seidel

Michael Currie has seen his daughter play a lot of basketball. He’s watched her from the time she got on the court in the sixth grade at Takoma Elementary School all the way through her great career at Bullis and her All-American college years at Duke and now into the pros.

But after Monique Currie left Duke, it was harder for her father to watch. The Charlotte Sting picked her in the first round last year (the third overall selection), and Currie then went to Chicago as the first pick in the Dispersal Draft. Michael Currie said he’s put about 100,000 miles on a brand-new car on one year traveling to see his daughter.

However, he won’t have to travel as much any more.

The Mystics obtained Currie recently in a trade for Chasity Melvin, looking for a way to pump up their stagnant offense. Currie started slowly but has been coming on lately, scoring 12 in a loss to New York but following that one night later with a career-high 25 in Washington’s first win, an 86-69 decision over Phoenix Wednesday.

Michael Currie has kept himself busy trying to keep an eye on his daughter playing. He’s a refrigeration technician with Giant Food who hits the road a lot to see Monique on the court.

"I followed her everywhere," Michael Currie said. "Now all we’ve got to do is get on the 70 bus and [go to] the Verizon Center."

Currie sat in the section behind the Mystics bench in the Phoenix game and closely followed his daughter. Interim coach Tree Rollins put her into the game quickly, inside of the first two minutes, and Currie took off.

"It’s almost one of things where you can’t find the words to describe how you actually feel," he said with a smile. "That’s how I feel."

Part of the Currie family went over to Israel to see Monique play over there in the off-season. Her grandmother, sister and niece stayed in Israel for 15 days and watched Monique play.

But the Verizon Center crowd really saw her play in the Phoenix game as Currie’s great first half kept Washington in the game and put the Mystics in position to take over in the second half.

"Once they went zone, I knew we had to get Monique in and she came through for us," said Rollins.

When Currie scored 10 of her points in the first quarter to help the Mystics stay close, her dad was often jumping up to cheer his daughter on. Michael Currie looked like a very proud father, and Monique Currie said the support she’s getting back in her hometown has been invaluable.

"The lucky thing about being at home is that I have a lot of support and a lot of people behind me, and I think that really helped me to stay focused and still believe in myself," Currie said. "My friends, my family, they have my back. They know what I’m capable of. I know as well, but it’s good to have that support and have people in your corner."

Alana Beard also knows what Currie can do. She played with her for three years at Duke and said her teammate is going to be a big help to the Mystics.

"She’s back in her mind-set now," Beard. "I know what she can do. It was just a transition, adjusting to a new team. Now she understands what we want from her. If she attacks the rim like she did tonight, she’s going to be unstoppable."

The fans certainly enjoyed it. But Monique Currie’s dad might be the happiest fan of all.

"I just love it," said Michael Currie.