Mystics 85, Dream 81

NOTEWORTHY:

  • The Mystics snapped a nine-game losing streak, defeating the Atlanta Dream at home and tying their regular season series with the team at two games apiece. The Mystics and Dream will face each other in a back-to-back as they travel to Atlanta to close out the series tomorrow night
  • Mystics forward Monique Currie made her season debut following her successful anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) recovery. In her debut, Currie played just over nine minutes and scored eight points, shooting 2-for-4 from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Currie also tallied three rebounds and collected one steal
  • The Mystics were led by forward Crystal Langhorne who scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, posting her sixth double-double of the season. Langhorne shot 10-for-20 from the field and 5-for-6 from the free throw line
  • Three Mystics players scored in double figures. Led by Langhorne with 25, rookie guard Jasmine Thomas added 12 points and a team-high five assists while guard Matee Ajavon added 19 points, shooting 7-for-11 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line from off the bench
  • The game featured 13 lead changes and 11 ties. The Dream led by as much as 10 while the Mystics led by as much as seven
  • The Dream were led by forward Angel McCoughtry who led all scorers with 30 points. McCoughtry shot 10-for-21 from the field and 10-for-12 from the free throw line
  • Three other Dream players scored in double figures (Alison Bales – 11; Sancho Lyttle – 10; Lindsey Harding – 10)
  • In their loss to the Mystics, the Dream snapped a three-game winning streak and are only two games above the Chicago Sky for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference

    WASHINGTON MYSTICS HEAD COACH TRUDI LACEY:

    Overall thoughts on the game:
    “It was a total team effort. Kerri [Gardin] started out rebounding the ball very well, she got 10 rebounds. Jasmine [Thomas] played a very good floor game. She is really beginning to have a feel for what we need to do. Matee [Ajavon] came off the bench and was solid for us. She is definitely one of the most improved players of the league this year. Obviously it was great to have Monique Currie back. She has such presence about her, such energy, and such a fierce competitor and she has a lot of confidence. Overall it was a total team effort.”

    On changes in the starting lineup:
    “What I want to do is go with some different lineups and see some different combinations of people playing together and get a feel for who plays well together and what we can do. I’ve been working on different defensive schemes. All along we have worked on progressing as a group and getting better as a group and understanding each other and we’ll continue to do that.”

    On Monique Currie playing strong in her season debut:
    “She’s a competitor. She doesn’t back down from anybody. She plays fearless which I love and she’s confident and she’s only been practicing just a little bit but I wouldn’t expect anything less from her.”

    WASHINGTON MYSTICS FORWARD MONIQUE CURRIE:

    On her return:
    “It felt great to be back. I was looking forward to it, I felt pretty good and I am just glad we came away with the win.”

    WASHINGTON MYSTICS FORWARD CRYSTAL LANGHORNE:

    On the difference in tonight’s game:
    “Tonight we just closed out the game like we needed to. Every close game we made some mistakes and tonight we did not make any mistakes and got the win.”

    WASHINGTON MYSTICS GUARD KELLY MILLER:

    On fourth quarter adjustments to break away with the win:
    “I think we just executed well in the fourth quarter and we got stops when we needed to. We were just able to finish it which was good for us because we weren’t able to do that in the past so it was good.”

    Mystics at a glance:
    Points: Crystal Langhorne - 25
    Rebounds: Langhorne, Kerri Gardin -10
    Assists:Jasmine Thomas - 5
    Steals: Gardin, Thomas - 2

    ATLANTA DREAM HEAD COACH MARYNELL MEADORS:

    Overall thoughts on game:
    “We were trying to play a little bit better defense then what we were playing. We didn’t play that good of a defense. Washington, all season long, they fought people the entire game. They’ve lost a lot of close games. They’ve lost a lot of overtime game. I just think we were not at our best tonight. I am not taking anything from Washington, they played well.”

    Last minute game strategy during the fourth quarter:
    “We were trying to get a time out and score quickly. We did right at the beginning of that first time out. Then the second time out we just ran out of time.”

    ATLANTA DREAM FORWARD ANGEL MCCOUGHTRY:

    Overall thoughts on the game:
    “They out rebounded us, so that’s what won the game. Tomorrow we got to bounce back, rebound and have a collective effort so we can get into the race for the playoffs. It’s very tight in the East."

    On playing against the Mystics defense:
    “We have to rebound tomorrow. Get stops. That’s basically it. Simple."

    Dream at a glance:
    Points:Angel McCoughtry - 30
    Rebounds: Sandora Irvin - 7
    Assists: Lindsey Harding - 8
    Steals:Sancho Lyttle - 4

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