Mystics 78, Storm 67

It's no secret that Washington needed a win tonight. The playoff implications are the obvious reason, the Mystics also needed to generate some extra confidence and momentum in the first of three games in four days. By taking control of the fourth quarter -- Washington outscored Seattle 23-14 -- and showing a balanced attack without their leading scorer, the Mystics got all of that and more.

Five Mystics -- Monique Currie (17), Matee Ajavon (16), Marissa Coleman (14), Crystal Langhorne (12) and Nakia Sanford (10) -- scored in double figures to help end Seattle's six-game winning streak. And this performance comes four days after six player recorded double digits against Minnesota.

"I think we're really gelling at the right time," Currie said. "At the end of the day everybody just stepped up. It's you win or you go home and we want to keep playing. We don't want our season to end at the end of the regular season."

Both teams were missing key components. The Mystics were without All-Star and leading scorer Alana Beard (16.6 ppg), who has a sprained left ankle, and the Storm was missing two-time WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson (stress fractures in her back) for the third straight game. Still, Seattle was not without a strong inside presence.

In the five games leading up to Thursday's contest, the Storm's backup center, 6-foot-5 Janell Burse, had scored 55 points combined. The Mystics, however, double-teamed Burse, limited her to just one point and forced her to foul out 45 seconds into the fourth quarter.

In addition to its suffocating defense on Burse and point guard Sue Bird, Washington again showed off its free-flowing offense. Starting in Beard's place, Ajavon energized the Mystics with two three-pointers in the first quarter. Coleman picked up the pace in the second with nine points and two three-pointers of her own. That was enough to give the Mystics a 35-33 halftime lead despite 14 turnovers before the break.

The game remained close entering the fourth quarter, the point at which the Mystics have struggled this season.

But Thursday, even after Bird tied the score at 57 and after the Storm pushed to come back for the next three minutes, the Mystics showed no real signs of withering. They answered Seattle's rallies, and when Currie made a three-pointer with 3:29 remaining to give the Mystics a 68-62 edge, they never looked back.

"I think we're playing together," Ajavon said. "Most of all we want the Mystics to make the playoffs. It takes a different kind of focus and I think everybody is tuned in right now."

Odds and Ends

• Coleman scored in double digits for the third straight game since Coach Julie Plank gave her a pep talk during the West Coast road trip.


• Currie has scored in double figures 10 out of the past 15 games. For a while in the middle of the season Plank talked about needing scoring from her wings. It appears they might have found it at the right time.


• Don't forget the Mystics take on Chicago at 8:30 p.m. Friday night with the final game in the season series (Washington leads 2-1) and a potential playoff tiebreaker up for grabs. Beard is another game-time decision against the Sky. All four of the Mystics' remaining games in the regular season are against Eastern Conference opponents.

By Katie Carrera  |  September 4, 2009; 10:46 AM ET
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