Mystics claim No. 1 seed in East, defeat slumping Dream

By Pierce W. Huff

For the AJC

Playoff momentum.

The two words are what the Dream have desperately searched for as they have limped down the stretch of their WNBA regular-season schedule.

The Washington Mystics made sure the Dream didn’t have that Sunday, and the bad news for the Dream is that the teams will be playing each other again in the first round WNBA playoffs later this week.

The relentless Mystics ran the Dream out of Philips Arena and captured the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 90-81 victory.

Washington (22-12), which has a six-game winning streak, entered the game in a three-way tie with New York and Indiana. New York played host to Connecticut. Indiana played host to Minnesota. Even if one of those teams finished with the same record as Washington, the Mystics are the No. 1 seed, because they have the better conference record.

The Dream-Mystics playoff series will begin in Washington either Friday or Saturday. The WNBA has yet to announce a playoff date.

The Dream (19-15) are 5-10 since the WNBA All-Star break. The team has lost six of its last seven games.

“Our team is not dead,” Dream coach Marynell Meadors said.

But facing Washington in the postseason won't be easy for the Dream. The Mystics are 3-1 against the Dream this season.

“I think we do have confidence going into the playoffs,” said forward Sancho Lyttle, who had 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Washington was playing its second game in three days, but it showed no signs of weariness.

The Mystics, who defeated New York 75-74 on Friday to create a three-way tie for first place in the Eastern Conference going into Sunday’s game, played loose and fast basketball right after the opening tipoff.

The Mystics began the game with a 15-9 run, which ended on a baseline jump shot by Nakia Sanford. They led 25-16 at the end of the quarter.

The difference in the quarter was Washington’s ability to share the ball and run its offense, which resulted in seven assists. The Dream, relying mostly on one-on-one offensive moves for its half-court offense, only had two assists.

The Mystics continued to run away from the Dream in the second quarter en route to the most points they’ve scored in the first half this season.

The Mystics began the quarter with a 13-4 run to take a 38-20 lead. They increased their lead to 52-30 when Katie Smith hit a 3-pointer with 2:24 left in the first half.

“We missed a lot of easy shots in the beginning, and they made most of their shots,” said forward Angel McCoughtry, who scored 19 points.

The Mystics led 54-37 at halftime. They had an 18-7 edge in assists and shot 48.8 percent (21 of 43) from the field in the first half. Monique Currie and Crystal Langhorne led the team with 14 and 12 points, respectively.

“We didn’t defend, and that’s the bottom line,” Meadors said. “We did not defend in the first half.”

The Dream began the third quarter with a 10-6 run to cut the Mystics lead to 60-47. But the Mystics finished the quarter with a 14-4 run to take a 74-51 lead.

The Dream began the fourth quarter with a 29-13 run to make the score 87-80 with 1:26 remaining in the game.

“It gives us energy and momentum, because that’s how we play,” Meadors said.