Washington Mystics Fan Club

Free throws, free throws, free throws! Mystics shot less than 30% from the free throw line and they had a difficult time maintaining their level of play against the Mercury.

The Mercury shot out and played their run-n-gun ball knocking down threes and ended the half with a 12 point lead over the Mystics.

The Mystics (2-4) went on an 11-0 run in the opening minutes of the second half and quickly tied the score at 53. It was tied three more times before the Mercury went on their own 11-0 run.

The Mystics, led by Alana Beard’s 33 points, kept the Mercury (1-4) and the announced crowd of 7,561 wondering for the rest of the game. But the Mercury, led by Diana Taurasi’s 29 points, scored 10 points from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, finally ensuring themselves of a victory.

The Mercury jumped to a 12-point lead in the first quarter. There were two reasons:

First, there was Taurasi, who hit five of her first six attempts from the floor. She had 11 points in the first quarter.

Then, there was an evident purpose to put some balance into an offense that has relied heavily on Taurasi and Cappie Pondexter, who before the game were presented USA jerseys in recognition of their selection Saturday to the Olympic team for the Beijing Games in August.

The Mercury looked for high-percentage attempts within the lane. For a while, it worked. Seven players scored in the first quarter.

The Mercury pushed their advantage to 15 points early in the second quarter. But they couldn’t add to it, mostly because Washington began to take control of the rebounding, with Taj McWilliams-Franklin. McWilliams-Franklin had five of her seven rebounds at halftime during the second quarter.

Meanwhile, the Mercury grabbed only three rebounds during the second quarter. Compare that with Washington. Actually, it was no comparison. The Mystics had 11 rebounds in the second quarter. The Mystics climbed to within seven.

But the Mercury restored the double-digit margin, pushing it back to 11, by closing out the half with 3-pointer from Pondexter, a pretty bank shot from the baseline from Taurasi and then a free throw, also from Taurasi.

Before tipoff, the Mercury activated rookie post player and first-round draft pick LaToya Pringle, who had been recovering from knee surgery not long after her senior season at North Carolina. Pringle didn’t play.

Filed under: Players, Washington Mystics