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Mystics blue in Chicago, drop second in a row
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In front of a sparse crowd tonight at UIC Pavilion in Chicago, the Mystics lost a close game that they led most of the night. What’s odd is that they ever led at all considering that they turned the ball over 24 times, shot only 55% from the free throw line and watched Alana Beard score well below her season average of 20.2 points per game. In reality, the Mystics should really consider themselves lucky to have lost 68-63.
So how did the Mystics only lose by 5 points? Honestly, their opponents were hardly better. The Sky shot 37.5% from the field and a dazzling 64.3% from the line. Like the Mystics, they coughed up the ball quite a bit themselves, 19 times to be exact. Had it not been for Candice Dupree’s 23 points, the Sky wouldn’t have had a chance.
If it seems as if I’m full of spit and vinegar, think again. The score in this masterpiece of blunders was 26-25 at halftime. There were 43 personal fouls in this game. It was ugly from start to finish. Really neither team deserved to win. They should have called it a draw.
For Mystics fans, the game was particularly painful because their team squandered a 9-point lead in the third quarter. By the start of the fourth quarter, the Sky had closed the gap, 48-47. No, they weren’t playing 5-minute quarters. That really was the score. Then, agonizingly, the Sky outscored the Mystics in the last 3:22 of play, 9-3. As in Thursday night’s loss, the Mystics had a chance to win in the closing minutes but couldn’t get the job done.
Tonight was probably just one of those nights, the kind that leaves you wondering, “What did I do last night?” Hopefully, no one else remembers either. Unfortunately for Lindsey Harding, her rather decent performance of 15 points, 6 assists and 6 rebounds will be lost in the hangover.
The Mystics next game is Tuesday at San Antonio at 8 pm.
