Mystics vs Monarchs from Tampa . . . well, wasn't that exciting!

For fans at home . . . about as exciting as watching paint dry. But for fans at the game in Tampa, very! Apparently, the Mystics came from 9 points down 11 points down in the 4th period to tie the game at the end of regulation, and went on to notch an overtime win, 90-82.

As it turns out, there was no Internet broadcast of tonight's game, despite the "listen live" links on the teams' web sites. And adding insult to injury, there wasn't any play-by-play, scoreboard updates -- or anything -- on WNBA.com either!

Thankfully, a Monarchs fan from Yuba City, CA, was listening on local radio and posted updates on the Rebkell message board! (Thanks, monarchsgamespictaker!) And a reliable source sent us a couple of emails from the arena. (Thanks, DT!)

So besides the score, here's everything we think we know: Harp started; the Monarchs only brought 9 players, including several reserves and rookies; Taj tied the score with 1.3 seconds left in regulation, but missed the "and-one," thus allowing the game to go to overtime. Lang scored at least 6 points that we know of, two of which came in overtime; the Mystics led early and at the half; Nikki Blue started and ran the point for the Mystics; Taj "hammered" Harp sometime in the 4th; veteran players Blue, Taj, Nakia and Coco re-entered the game in the final period for the Mystics and put on the charge that tied it up; rookie Krystal Vaughn impressed the radio announcers; and, Dr. J sat courtside tracking the action complete with roster and clipboard. Of course, it's always possible that our message board buddy made all this up! (No, we don't really believe that!) That completes our game "report."

So, if you're wondering who was the leading scorer? We don't know. Leading rebounder? We don't know. Who started for each team? We don't know. We just have to wait until someone down in Tampa posts a news report. And of course, when that happens, we'll add the link. And then, just maybe, we can all learn more about what really happened at tonight's "exciting" preseason contest. Now we're going back to watching our paint dry some more.

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Tuesday Morning Update. Thanks to the St. Pete Times and ESPN.com, we finally have an eyewitness account of last night's action as well as a Box Score! The Mystics sent 14 players into the game; Taj led the team in scoring with 16. Nikki Blue, who started at the PG spot, had 15 points and 5 assists. She also hit 6 of 6 free throws during the overtime. And 711 people saw the game live.

For Maryland fans . . . Harp started for Sacramento, played 26 minutes, had 7 pts, 5 boards and 1 block (before fouling out with 6 fouls -- ooops!). For the Mystics, Lang came off the bench, played 16 minutes, had 6 pts, 5 rbs and 1 steal (and fortunately only 1 PF).

While the Mystics were down in Tampa, they also held a clinic for local high school basketball players. Next on the team's schedule is a pre-season game this Thursday in New York against the Liberty. Tip-off is at 11am. It's "School Day" at Madison Square Garden, so you can bet there will be more than 711 people in attendance for this exhibition game, it's just that most of them won't be old enough to drive, drink, or vote.