Sweatin' It OutOn a day when outside temperatures reached record highs throughout the D.C. area, the inside of the Verizon Center was nice and cool, but the battle for first place in the East between the Mystics and the Fever -- taking place on the court -- was anything but. In the end, though, the Mystics were burned by the Fever, 78-73.
This could've (and perhaps should've) been an easy win for Indiana, as the Mystics committed 21 turnovers (leading to 23 Fever points), shot under 40% from the field overall, and a measly 23% from 3-point range. But it wasn't.
After the Fever lost to the Mystics in their previous two meetings this season, it looked like Indy finally had the Mystics' number. The Fever built double-digit leads on more than one occasion, but each time the Mystics fought back to narrow the gap. In the last 5 minutes of the game, with Indiana up by 12, the Mystics battled back to get within 3 points with 14 seconds remaining. A barely-missed 3-point attempt by Katie Smith turned out to be the difference between an outright Indiana win and a game that would likely have been headed for overtime.
The never-give-up mentality the Mystics displayed tonight may not have gotten them a win . . . but it sure as heck made the Fever sweat to get theirs. And so, for now, in the tightly-packed East, the Fever are still on top, but they know how close they came to being knocked off that perch tonight.
Four Mystics -- all starters -- finished in double figures, led by Katie Smith with 17 points. Lang had 15 (and 13 rebounds, for yet another double-double), Mo added 14, and Lindsey finished with 10.
The Mystics next play another Eastern Conference rival, Connecticut, up at the Reservation on Tuesday at 7:30 PM. Every game at this point is a must-win.
Go Mystics . . . Beat the Sun!
posted by BasketCases @ 11:25 PM
10 comments
10 Comments:
What a messy game last night!! I'd actually have said that the mystics could have gotten an easy win, but there were so many turnovers and missed free throws.
And then the refs??? I'll admit that I don't know all of the rules, but if a ball bounces off a ref, and he's standing on the sidelines, isn't the ball out?? We've got to watch it again, but the ref calls against the Mystics in the 1st half and the Fever in the 2nd,some of them seemed pretty iffy.
If only the rally didn't happen at the very, very end. But the mystics of old would have lost big time instead of getting so close.
I wish Marissa had gotten more minutes, I think she could have done more with more time.
This was the first time to watch a live game, and it was a blast! I was surprised at all the technicals on Indy though, do you know what the last one on Catchings was for?
We've got to cut down on turnovers. It is killing us. 21 turnovers is ridiculous.
According to the telcast of last night, the announcers fell that Catchings was responding to being taken out of the game the the ref (yes the same ref who called Crystal for a foul which was then reversed to go against Hoffman, the same ref who doesn't get out of the way of a pass), thought she was saying something directly to him. Another bad call from that ref.
hmmm. Marissa can't even make her free throws. I don't understand the constant calls for her to play.
Anytime Josh Tiven is in the house, I know we're in for a long night of unnecessary whistle blowing - that goes for both ways.
to Anon @ 3:08pm:
Rissa hit 4-of-5 FT including converting all 3 when she was fouled on a 3pt-er.
Did you mean Matee?
more minutes for Marissa would've been nice... she's a smarter player in the clutch- meaning she wouldn't have jacked up an ill advised shot!
What's up with the person bashing marissa? I will be the first person to admit that she wasn't contributing at the beginning of the season, but she has done her job off the bench the last 6 or so games. So whoever the person is, you need to start watching the games or something.
I agree. She isn't just staking out a place to shoot a 3 from. She's defending well (and getting some bogus foul calls), making some great steals, and looks like a different player than even a month ago.
With Atlanta winning it looks like we're 1.5 games back. They should be able to pull off a win tomorrow against the Sun. Go Mystics!
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