Photo: Diana Taurasi seemed to toy with Washington's Nikki Blue during this possession. Taurasi did what she wanted in scoring 31 points to help lead the defending champions over the Mystics 98-90. Photo by Keith Henry
By Keith Henry
WASHINGTON- The Washington Mystics finally started the game on a positive note. Unfortunately, the defending WNBA champion Phoenix Mercury, the highest scoring team in the league, bounced back and inflicted damage. Diana Taurasi and Cappie Pondexter combined for 59 points in their 98-90 victory over the defenseless Washington Mystics at the Verizon Center.
The Mystics opened the game with a 13-4 spurt and it looked like they would run away from the defending champions. But Phoenix won the 2007 WNBA title for a reason, their ability to bounce back in a hurry. Kelly Miller converted a layup, and then Taurasi nailed a three-pointer plus four straight free throws to tie the game at 13 with 3:53 left in the first quarter.
Pondexter said, “We didn’t look down as opposed to what happened in New York when we got down early and we’re just like ‘Oh well, it’s going to be a long night.’ Tonight, we didn’t do that. And we took advantage of the defense that we played which caused them problems and allowed us to get out on the break.”
Washington (5-8) trailed 40-39 at halftime and usually in the third quarter, the Mystics turn up the heat on opponents. Unfortunately, Phoenix beat the Mystics to the stove.
The Mercury started the third quarter with a 13-2 spurt. Pondexter scored six of those points during the run. Tangela Smith’s lay-up gave Phoenix a 53-41 advantage with 6:42 left.
Phoenix’s zone defense had a hand in their effort. “We’ve been playing that zone for two years now. That was our bread and butter. That was what won us the championship last year. The zone and our ability to stay in it and more than that, run out of it. Today, it was effective and it hadn’t been lately,” said Taurasi.
Phoenix head coach Corey Gaines said, “They were trying to get the ball inside and we changed our (zone) defense from a 3-2 to a 2-1-2 to get closer to the bigs and (Washington) kept trying to force it in.”
Though the Mystics cut the deficit to eight on four different occasions in the quarter, Phoenix (5-7) kept up the offensive pressure and the Mystics couldn’t handle it. Phoenix took their biggest lead of the game when Pondexter drained two free throws to make it 73-57 with 1:22 left in the quarter.
Taj McWilliams-Franklin, who led the Mystics with 31 points, said, “We weren’t being aggressive, we were being passive aggressive. The third quarter is usually our quarter and we didn’t play defense and we didn’t execute. They are not a defensive team, yet we couldn’t score. We weren’t focused.”
Mystics head coach Tree Rollins wasn’t pleased with his team defensively stating, “We gave the game away; we did not play one lick of defense. You can call it an eight point loss. Fourth quarter, second half we started turning the ball back over again. First half we took care of the ball, we played, we were down one, third quarter, first four possessions, we either turnover or fouled and they scored. So now we are down ten, and it stayed that way for the remainder of the game. So nothing we can do, nothing you can execute, it just comes down to having heart and playing defense. So our team as a team as a whole, we’re not playing defense. So it falls on me. I got to find a better (way) in practice to keep preaching defense and getting them to play defense in a game. “
In the fourth quarter, the Mystics managed to cut the deficit to six at 90-84 with 1:49 left with another opportunity to cut into it further. However, Alana Beard’s shot was blocked by Smith, then Crystal Smith picked up the rebound and missed a short lay-up attempt. That signaled the end for the Mystics because Pondexter swished a 10 foot jumper to put away the comeback attempt.
The Mystics now head west for three games. They’re at Los Angeles, Seattle and Sacramento before coming home for San Antonio on July 6th.
WASHINGTON- The Washington Mystics finally started the game on a positive note. Unfortunately, the defending WNBA champion Phoenix Mercury, the highest scoring team in the league, bounced back and inflicted damage. Diana Taurasi and Cappie Pondexter combined for 59 points in their 98-90 victory over the defenseless Washington Mystics at the Verizon Center.
The Mystics opened the game with a 13-4 spurt and it looked like they would run away from the defending champions. But Phoenix won the 2007 WNBA title for a reason, their ability to bounce back in a hurry. Kelly Miller converted a layup, and then Taurasi nailed a three-pointer plus four straight free throws to tie the game at 13 with 3:53 left in the first quarter.
Pondexter said, “We didn’t look down as opposed to what happened in New York when we got down early and we’re just like ‘Oh well, it’s going to be a long night.’ Tonight, we didn’t do that. And we took advantage of the defense that we played which caused them problems and allowed us to get out on the break.”
Washington (5-8) trailed 40-39 at halftime and usually in the third quarter, the Mystics turn up the heat on opponents. Unfortunately, Phoenix beat the Mystics to the stove.
The Mercury started the third quarter with a 13-2 spurt. Pondexter scored six of those points during the run. Tangela Smith’s lay-up gave Phoenix a 53-41 advantage with 6:42 left.
Phoenix’s zone defense had a hand in their effort. “We’ve been playing that zone for two years now. That was our bread and butter. That was what won us the championship last year. The zone and our ability to stay in it and more than that, run out of it. Today, it was effective and it hadn’t been lately,” said Taurasi.
Phoenix head coach Corey Gaines said, “They were trying to get the ball inside and we changed our (zone) defense from a 3-2 to a 2-1-2 to get closer to the bigs and (Washington) kept trying to force it in.”
Though the Mystics cut the deficit to eight on four different occasions in the quarter, Phoenix (5-7) kept up the offensive pressure and the Mystics couldn’t handle it. Phoenix took their biggest lead of the game when Pondexter drained two free throws to make it 73-57 with 1:22 left in the quarter.
Taj McWilliams-Franklin, who led the Mystics with 31 points, said, “We weren’t being aggressive, we were being passive aggressive. The third quarter is usually our quarter and we didn’t play defense and we didn’t execute. They are not a defensive team, yet we couldn’t score. We weren’t focused.”
Mystics head coach Tree Rollins wasn’t pleased with his team defensively stating, “We gave the game away; we did not play one lick of defense. You can call it an eight point loss. Fourth quarter, second half we started turning the ball back over again. First half we took care of the ball, we played, we were down one, third quarter, first four possessions, we either turnover or fouled and they scored. So now we are down ten, and it stayed that way for the remainder of the game. So nothing we can do, nothing you can execute, it just comes down to having heart and playing defense. So our team as a team as a whole, we’re not playing defense. So it falls on me. I got to find a better (way) in practice to keep preaching defense and getting them to play defense in a game. “
In the fourth quarter, the Mystics managed to cut the deficit to six at 90-84 with 1:49 left with another opportunity to cut into it further. However, Alana Beard’s shot was blocked by Smith, then Crystal Smith picked up the rebound and missed a short lay-up attempt. That signaled the end for the Mystics because Pondexter swished a 10 foot jumper to put away the comeback attempt.
The Mystics now head west for three games. They’re at Los Angeles, Seattle and Sacramento before coming home for San Antonio on July 6th.
No comments:
Post a Comment