They battled evenly in free throws made, points in the paint, second chance points, steals and blocked shots, but in the end, it wasn’t enough for the Washington Mystics (4-5), who lost to the Eastern Conference leader Atlanta Dream (7-3), 86-79, in overtime.
Leading by eight points going to the fourth quarter, the Mystics were unable to attack the 2-3 zone with little outside shooting. Guard Katie Smith, usually a reliable scorer, was able to convert only two of 13 shots. The Mystics’ starting five were also outrebounded, 39-21. As a result, they were outscored in the fourth quarter and in overtime by 15 points. One bright spot came from ex-Maryland University forward Crystal Langhorne, who scored 23 points with eight rebounds and made nine of 14 field goal attempts.
Throughout the 2010 Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) season, Meniscus will be covering a select number of the Washington Mystics’ home games at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. For tickets, go to http://www.wnba.com/mystics/tickets/ticketsindex.html.