WNBA Silver Stars Beat Mystics
Hammon's 28 Points Leads San Antonio
The Verizon Center in Washington D.C. is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, meaning it wasn't open in 1988 and was never called the U.S. Sprint Center.
Yet Sunday's atmosphere there resembled Sprint's signature commercial catch-phrase of 20 years ago regarding the clarity of its long distance service..."you could hear a pin drop."
A relatively quiet 10,439 spectators, who were more audible in the game's latter stages, endured a tough 83-75 loss for their Mystics (6-11) at the hands of the San Antonio Silver Stars (12-6).
Shooting star guard Becky Hammon scored 28 points and tallied six assists...game highs in both departments. She was also flawless from the free-throw line - 10 for 10.
"We just wanted to stay aggressive," remarks Hammon, now in her tenth season. "When you play too reserved down the stretch, you start playing not to lose. I think this team does a good job of always playing to win."
Once San Antonio took their first lead midway through the second quarter, they fell behind only once, in the fourth quarter and by one point. They led by as many as 12, despite shooting only 46.2 percent from the field and being outrebounded 44-30.
"They're a good team, so you know they're going to make a push at you," Hammon says about Washington. "We were able to make a push back."
Staying Opti-Mystic
Washington, despite dropping their 11th decision of the year, stuck close throughout the contest. With under a minute to go, they trailed by six, yet couldn't cleanly shoot 3-pointers, ergo they were unable to turn the two-possession situation into a possible tie.
"No loss is ever easy," says a dejected Mystic guard Alana beard, who drilled 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds. "I go home every night and watch film. We've just got to continue to push, continue to fight, and eventually it'll turn around."
Beard was one of three Mystics in double figures. Rookie center Crystal Langhorne scored 17 and forward Taj McWilliams-Franklin had 15. Forward Monique Currie and McWilliams-Franklin both tied San Antonio's Sophia Young for the game-high rebound count - eight.
For the Stars, Young scored 23 while center Ann Wauters threw in 18, much of it early in the game.
"It's a good win for us," says Wauters, who returns to the WNBA after a two-season hiatus. Wauters spent 2006 and 07 working with her native Belgian team in the hopes of making it to this summer's olympic games, but says she's even happier to be back in the WNBA. "I'm enjoying it all, being back, being on a new team, everything."
Looking Ahead
Next up for her new team, a trip home to face her old squad the New York Liberty, the team Hammon and guard Vickie Johnson began their storied WNBA careers with. That meeting will get underway Tuesday, and Thursday the Stars play at Chicago.
Washington remains home to face eastern conference rival, the Indiana Fever (9-8).
A win would snap a now three-game losing stream for the Mystics.
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