Oh, so close! The Mystics competed well against the Comets for 37 minutes, only to go cold just when they needed it most. Houston finished the game with a 10-0 run as the Comets beat the Mystics 83-76 at the Toyota Center in the midday contest. In a game that was close throughout, the Mystics pulled out to a four point lead late in the fourth quarter, but failed to score a single point the rest of the way and failed to get needed stops on the defensive end.

Chasity Melvin bounced back from her Indy "Oh-fer" to lead the Mystics with 20 points and 6 rebounds. Alana scored 17 and Nakia added 16 more, but it wasn't enough as Houston's Tina Thompson led all scorers with 22 points and Michelle Snow controlled the glass with 17 rebounds. The Mystics played most of the way without Latasha Byears, who suffered a messy cut over her eye from a Michelle Snow elbow. Zane Teilane made her WNBA debut, coming off the bench to fill some of the minutes normally played by Tot. Zane finished with a respectable 4 points and 5 rebounds in a little more than 13 minutes. Once again the Mystics shot poorly from the charity stripe, hitting only 8 of 15, while Houston converted 12 of their 16 chances.

Like Tuesday's matchup against Indy, this was another close, tough game against a good playoff-quality opponent; and like Tuesday, this was another winnable game that the Mystics allowed to slip away. In her halftime radio interview, GM Linda Hargrove said there were a few games already this season they wish they could have back . . . unfortunately, the Mystics today added another one to that list. And the Mystics' West Coast swing doesn't get any easier for a while. A 1-0 start would have gotten this road trip off on the right foot, but instead the Mystics take a two-game losing streak into L.A. on Saturday night to face the Western Conference leading Sparks. As the BasketCases have been told on many occasions . . . close only counts in hand grenades and horseshoes, not in basketball.