Big Win! Big Loss?

You saw it tonight on ESPN2. The Mystics traveled to the Dream's house, where Atlanta has been nearly unbeatable this season (10-2 before today). And you saw what we saw, a gritty performance by the visiting team against the Conference-leading Dream. Mystics win, 86-78, to move up into 2nd place (tied with Indy), 1 game behind Atlanta.

Now if that were all that had happened tonight, the BCs would be doing another happy dance. But while the Mystics got a big win, they also suffered a loss. How much of a loss . . . well, it's too soon to tell. Of course, having watched it, you know we're talking about Lindsey Harding's injury. With a little less than 4 minutes remaining in the game, Lindsey landed on Sancho Lyttle's foot, went down and had to be carried to the locker room. She did not return to the bench for the remainder of the game. So, frankly, we're holding our collective breaths until more information is available about the extent of Lindsey's injury. Our fingers, toes and eyes are crossed hoping for the best.

Before she went down, Lindsey had managed to score 16 points, dish out 6 assists (against only 1 TO) and pull down 4 rebounds. Her performance, though slightly less dramatic than it was in Indy last week, nevertheless was critical to Washington's victory. Warhorse Katie Smith, playing 35 minutes (including taking over at PG when Lindsey left), led the Mystics with 18. Not unexpectedly, Crystal (or "Steady Eddie" as the coaching staff calls her) finished with another double-double (15 points & 12 rebounds), notching her 1,000th career point along the way. And Matee, off the bench, added 14 points (most of them in the critical final period) plus 4 assists.

All season, the Mystics have been outrebounding their (usually taller) opponents, and tonight was no exception (36-28), but what was encouraging about this game was that, for a change, the Mystics actually had more assisted baskets than the Dream. Washington's aggressiveness on the glass and unselfish play were two key reasons they got this big (nationally televised) win.

We're proud of the heart the Mystics showed. Beating the afterShock at home is nice, but beating the #1 team in the Conference on the road is even nicer. Let's hope that Lindsey's setback is minor and that she's back in action before Friday's 7:30 PM tip-off against the Liberty at Madison Square Garden. The Mystics certainly need her . . . especially now. It's always tough to win in the Garden, and at the moment the Libs are the hottest team in the WNBA, having won 4 in a row.

Go Mystics . . . Beat New York!

P.S. By the way, one promising development: though she didn't see action tonight, Jacinta Monroe was in uniform on the bench, so we hope to see her back on the court soon.