The Washington Mystics are Finding Out Who They Are

By Raymond Lyons

For the second consecutive game, the Mystics snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. On Thursday they went to war without Tina Charles. That game looked all but lost until Theresa Plaisance and Ariel Atkins decided that losing wasn’t an option. And tonight, although they had Charles back, they were shorthanded due to injuries to Myisha Hines-Allen and Erica McCall. And if that wasn’t enough adversity, Natasha Cloud went down in the 2nd quarter with an ankle injury. Conventional wisdom would lead you to believe that this game was all but lost. But the Mystics toughed it out with 7 players and came out with the win against the Indiana Fever.

Indiana started off hot. They shot 56% from the field and 75% from 3 pt range in the 1st quarter. But the Mystics were able to weather the storm and only trailed by 6 after the first period. As expected, they gave the Fever a heavy dose of Tina Charles. Her ability to get easy baskets and provide reliable offense helped Washington keep things manageable while Indiana couldn’t miss. Only trailing by 6 after shooting 31.8% from the field and failing to make a single three point shot in the first quarter was definitely an optimal situation for the home team.

Washington turned the tide in the 2nd quarter and ratcheted things up defensively. After the blistering start, the Fever were held to 14 points and 25% from the field over the next 10 minutes. In addition to the defensive intensity, the Mystics got it going on the offensive end. They put up 27 points in the period. Ariel Atkins made her first field goal at the 8:00 mark of the quarter and Washington and they took a 7 point lead into halftime. The lead came at a price though. In the 2nd quarter, Jantel Lavender and Natasha Cloud’s feet got tangled up and Cloud suffered a high ankle sprain. She would not return for the rest of the game.

The Mystics struggled offensively coming out of halftime and the Fever were able to regain the lead. Washington needed to regain their footing without their starting point guard. Enter Theresa Plaisance. Her energy and hustle carried over from the last game. But the offense we saw against the Dream reappeared in the second half against the Fever. Plaisance found her shot and continued to be aggressive for the remainder of the game. She finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. Plaisance was acquired in the offseason for her shot making ability and to add size to the front line. After a slow start to the season, she is starting to fulfill her potential with the Mystics.

Washington kept up the defensive intensity in the 4th quarter, holding Indiana to 16 points. Ariel Atkins and Tina Charles carried the Mystics across the finish line. Charles finished with 30 points, 15 rebounds, three assists and three steals and Atkins added 16 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals. This was another gritty win for the Mystics. They are establishing an identity as a “Grind it out” team. With the way the season is unfolding, they need to continue to show the resilience that’s been on display the last two games. There are a lot of new faces in Washington and the ingredients are beginning to mesh. But sitting at .500 12 games into the season, The Mystics need to find cohesiveness and string together some wins. Getting a tough win while being shorthanded coming off their best win of the season sans their best player is a good way to get things going in the right direction.