OMG! What a Game!! If you were there, this is one you won't soon forget. For the 9,700-plus fans in attendance, this is one we'll be talking about for years to come.

Tonight at the Phone Booth, the young-and-the-reckless Mystics team played their hearts out -- for 50 minutes -- to beat the Connecticut Sun (not to mention the 3 guys wearing whistles) in a Double-OT thriller, 91-89.

After a demoralizing 4th-quarter meltdown on Tuesday against the Shock, the Mystics faced the daunting task of hosting the only team this season that has succeeded in handing them a humiliating loss . . . the Sun, who beat them last Sunday up at Mohegan by nearly 30 points. But tonight the reborn Mystics showed what they were made of.

For the first 40 minutes, with their outside shooting continuing to elude them (another 0-fer night from outside the arc), Washington played gritty, grind-it-out basketball . . . rebounding, driving inside, hitting their free-throws, and contesting every Connecticut move and shot. The Mystics played with enough heart-and-soul to win this game in regulation.

So why didn't they? Well, we'd be lying if we told you we didn't think the refs called a classically horrible game. Two technicals were called on the Mystics (Nakia & Alana), in both cases because the player had the audacity to point out to the official that she had just been fouled. But it wasn't only the Ts. Time and again the jumbotron replays showed that the officials had BADLY blown calls against the Mystics. Many of those calls occurred at critical junctures in a game that was a nailbiter throughout.

However, despite the obstacles thrown in their way, the Mystics regrouped time and again and continued to fight. In the 4th quarter, Alana put the team on her back, scoring 12 of her game-high 26 points in the final 10 minutes of regulation, helping to send the game into overtime.

But tonight, to no Maryland fan's surprise, overtime was Lang's time. In the last minute-and-a-half (or so) of the first OT, Crystal single-handedly wiped out the Sun's 4-point advantage, first by scoring on a lay-up and then by stepping to the line and swishing 2 free throws (her only attempts of the night). The result: the Mystics survived to play another day overtime.

In the second overtime, Lang again led the way. She scored 6 of the Mystics' 10 points, including a 17-foot (game-winning!) jumper from the top of the key (on an assist from Alana) with about 1 second remaining on the shot clock, that put the Mystics ahead with 9.1 seconds left in the 2nd OT period. Two time-outs and 9.1 seconds of defense later, Nakia grabbed the rebound from a missed Connecticut 3-point attempt. Game over! Mystics win!

The coaches jumped into each other's arms. The players mobbed each other at mid-court. The 9,700 fans stood and screamed their approval; nobody, absolutely nobody, left before the final buzzer -- with the exception of LeBron James and 4 of his buddies. This one was a classic!

Alana, as we mentioned, led all scorers with 26. Lang finished with a double-double, 22 points and 16 boards (both career highs)! The BasketCases watched Lang play all four years at Maryland, and we have to say that this was one of the most amazing (and memorable) games of hers we've ever seen. Lang has always been a high-percentage shooter, but now her shots include long jumpers, including ones (like tonight's) made at clutch moments. She has a free-throw shooting form that is unorthodox to say the least, but her accuracy from the charity stripe continues to improve. We think this season she's answered her critics who questioned whether she could perform well at the pro level.

The Mystics are now tied again for 2nd place in the Eastern Conference, this time with Connecticut and Atlanta. Though playoff position is important, perhaps more important was the statement the Mystics made tonight in toughing out a win against a perennial playoff team. No matter what the rest of the season may hold, the Mystics have shown that they are a team to be reckoned with, a team that's growing . . . a team headed in the right direction. And, as their fans already know, they are a team tremendously exciting to watch! We have 9,700 witnesses.