Insider Preview - Storm vs. Washington

Washington fans, who have seen their organization go through 11 coaches in 12 seasons and make midseason changes four separate times, might be understandably wary of getting comfortable with Plank. So far, however, the former Lynx duo has done an admirable job in lifting the Mystics back into playoff contention.

On the court, Washington's moves were less dramatic. The marquee deal of the offseason was Plank and Taylor bringing in another refugee from Minnesota - point guard Lindsey Harding, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2007 WNBA Draft who fell out of favor after two seasons with the Lynx. The Mystics brought center Chasity Melvin back to Washington after a season and a half spent in Chicago after a 2007 trade, took Rutgers product Matee Ajavon in the Houston Comets Dispersal Draft and used the No. 3 pick of this year's WNBA Draft to select Maryland forward Marissa Coleman.

The addition of Harding has made the biggest difference for the Mystics, who suffered in 2008 because of the team's woefully inconsistent play at the point. Incumbent starter Nikki Teasley was waived in a cap-related move after getting pregnant, and Washington never found a real replacement. Backup Nikki Blue saw most of the action, splitting time with journeywomen Amber Jacobs and Crystal Smith. The Mystics were 12th in the league in the percentage of their field goals that were assisted, committed more turnovers than anyone else in the WNBA and saw their offense sank to the bottom of the league.

The starter at the point since day one, Harding has been a dramatic upgrade. Her 4.9 assists per game rank fourth in the league, and Harding is also the league's second-highest-scoring point guard after Becky Hammon, averaging 13.3 points a night.

"She's very much in attack mode, good with the ball, quick, fast, excellent pull-up jumpshot," said Seattle Storm Head Coach Brian Agler. "She's improving her three-point shooting and has the ability to pressure the basketball. I think she's playing with a lot of confidence right now."

Harding's presence has opened things up for backcourt-mate Alana Beard, who made her fourth trip to the All-Star Game this season. Beard's True Shooting Percentage has improved from 49.5 percent to 52.0 percent thanks to the improved shots she is getting. The duo is the WNBA's highest-scoring backcourt at just over 30 points per game.

The other big source of improvement for the Mystics has been a holdover who might be Harding's toughest competition for Most Improved Player honors, forward Crystal Langhorne. The Maryland product has more than doubled her minutes per game and has seen corresponding improvement in her per-game averages. Always a high-percentage shooter, Langhorne is second in the WNBA in field-goal percentage at 59.7 percent. She's also third in rebounding at 8.9 per game. Langhorne's biggest improvement is tough to quantify in the numbers; her improved defense has allowed her to stay on the court and seize the starting spot at power forward.

The upgrades still haven't been enough to give Washington a good offense. In fact, the Mystics still rank 12th in the league in Offensive Rating. However, they've at least scored efficiently enough to compete. Add in an average defense and Washington has spent most of the year above .500 after starting the season 4-1. Now, the goal is making the playoffs. If the season ended today, the Mystics would claim the fourth and final spot in the Eastern Conference, winning a tie-breaker with Chicago. However, everyone in the East can still legitimately aspire to win that spot, so Washington will need to play well down the stretch to return to the postseason for the first time since 2006.

The Mystics are the last of the 12 other WNBA teams to show up on the Storm's schedule in 2009, with a return matchup in Washington scheduled for next Thursday. The Storm continues its homestand looking to extend the momentum of wins at Detroit and on Saturday at the Key over the Indiana Fever.

KEY MATCHUP
	The Storm did an excellent job defending Beard last season, holding her to 25 points on 10-of-32 shooting in two matchups. The lefty is best when she's able to get into the paint, and has been up-and-down from three-point range during her career. The Storm's Tanisha Wright will want to give Beard some space and keep her from being able to get by off the dribble. Beard is a good defensive player, but by making her work at the other end of the floor Wright will help slow her down on offense.

The Mystics took out their frustrations on the Storm last July 20. Having lost back-to-back games and seen their coach fired, they had plenty of frustration, and that translated into an 89-57 victory, the third-largest margin of defeat in Storm history. In the first half, Washington was hitting everything, shooting 8-of-12 from three-point range. The Mystics totaled 48 points by halftime, nearly matching their total of 49 in a loss to the Storm at KeyArena last month. Meanwhile, the Storm was limited to eight second-quarter points as Washington pulled away for a 23-point halftime lead. Seattle was unable to make that ground up after halftime.

With the game out of hand, Agler used his bench exclusively in the fourth quarter. Katie Gearlds got going for all of her team-high 13 points. Kelly Santos scored a season-high seven points and made a career-high five free throws. Camille Little had another strong game stepping in for Lauren Jackson, grabbing a career-high 12 rebounds and scoring 10 points for her first career double-double. Sue Bird scored 11 points, but the rest of the starting lineup totaled just 11. Nine Mystics players scored at least six points and Washington shot 54.8 percent from the field and 58.8 percent from downtown. Washington's 19 steals set a record for a Storm opponent as Seattle turned it over a season-high 24 times.

INJURIES

Storm - Forward Katie Gearlds (torn left posterior cruciate ligament) is out.

Washington - None.