Friday night as the (12-15) Washington Mystics walked off the Verizon Center court, they knew they could feel it coming. The day that would allow them to prove themselves once and for all. The day that would silence all the critics, doubters and jersey hoppers. That moment came for the Mystics as they defeated the (12-17) Chicago Sky yesterday 71-66 to gain the fourth and final spot of the Eastern Conference Playoffs. “We’re in for now”, said Coach Wayne “Tree” Rollins. “Now we’ve got to find a way to stay in.”
Though the Mystics are set to take flight on the West Coast, where they will meet once again with Sacramento, Seattle, San Antonio and Los Angeles, they are not lacking confidence. “I think our confidence is extremely high right now”, proclaimed Delisha Milton-Jones, who scored a game high 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
The Mystics knew the importance of Sunday’s match-up, as they, along with the New York Liberty sought the urgency to win this weekend to get one step closer to the playoffs. Coming into this weekend’s game, Candice Dupree and the Sky were in fourth place, so the Mystics knew they had to bring their A game. If no one else responded to the must-win scenario, Coco Miller was the woman of the hour. After Friday’s win over the Liberty, Coach Rollins stressed his desire to give Miller more playing time and Sunday as she saw 22 minutes of action, she showed up and showed out. “I really wanted this team to make the playoffs,” said Miller who came off the bench with 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting (4-of-7 from the three point line). “I just want to contribute anyway I can.”
As Miller made her way to the scorer’s table with 2:26 remaining in the first quarter, the crowd began to erupt as their wish had finally been granted. “The thing about her [Miller] is no matter what day it is, what the circumstances are, she’s going be the same and she’s going to give you the same effort,” bragged Milton-Jones.
Midway through the third quarter, after Alana Beard (18 points) sank a three pointer to bring the Mystics within one, Miller drained a three pointer that allowed Washington to take a 48-47 lead. The Sky failed to regain the lead thereafter.
Candice Dupree led the Sky with 18 points, and Chasity Melvin scored 14 points and collected 12 boards against the team that traded her earlier this season in exchange for Monique Currie. While there maybe a rivalry brewing between the two teams, Melvin and former Mystic Stacy Dales, continued to receive warm receptions from Washington fans as they were introduced before tip-off. Currie scored two points against her former team, and Nakia Sanford, the Mystic starter whose game has truly emerged recently, scored six points, but her defensive presence was critical as she had nine rebounds, eight on the defensive end. The Mystics grabbed 24 defensive rebounds while only giving up 17. If there were a downside to the Mystic’s performance, it was the 23 turnovers committed.
The Sky at one point managed to erase a five point halftime deficit, and gained a four point lead at 46-42 after going on an 11-2 run to open the third quarter. Late in the fourth quarter, Dupree and Melvin led the Sky on an 8-0 run to bring them as close as 69-66 with 0.08 seconds remaining in the game.
Tuesday’s game against San Antonio begins the team’s road trip. The Mystics dropped their home games against each of the opponents except Seattle, in which center Lauren Jackson tied a WNBA record with 47 points in her team’s 97-96 loss.
“We have our work cut out for us once we take this road trip, but as all year, our team has shown a lot of character. Come out and play hard, and leave everything on the court, so I’m sure we’ll do the same thing on the road,” said Coach Rollins in respect to the upcoming schedule.
Despite the Washington Mystics’ 0-8 start, the sudden resignation of Coach Richie Adubato, the retirement of Crystal Robinson (who joined the team’s coaching staff), and the Melvin-Currie trade, the team has been able to remind the League yet again why the past shouldn’t be dwelled up—it doesn’t have to determine your future.
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