Washington, DC--
If the Mystics wanted to avoid a repeat of last season's 0-8 start they were going to need to get off to a good start today in their home opener, well they didn't start well, but they certainly finished strong with a 69-66 victory over the Houston Comets.
Washington who has struggled with to get their offense flowing the first two games on the road continued with much of the same this afternoon when they went to the 5:53 mark of the first quarter before they hit their first shot.
Alana Beard, who struggled during the first two games played as hard as we have seen so far this season and gave the Mystics the punch they needed at the end.
Laurie Koehn who has provided a spark off the Mystics bench proved she could get the job done again from long range hitting huge shot at the buzzer at the end of the third quarter giving the Mystics the lead 47-45.
"You've gotta love Laurie," Rollins said of the fourth-year guard who scored 12 points. Houston "tried to stop us inside and when they went zone, immediately we put Laurie in. She made a couple threes and they got out of the zone. They tried to go zone again and we put her back in. Laurie's a game changer."
With 45 seconds remaining, Houston's Thompson made 1 of 2 free throws to give the Comets a 66-65 lead. During the Mystics' next possession the ball changed hands four times as players dove to the floor scrambling to regain control.
Beard who took control of the game in the second half and also in the final seconds when hit two big free throws with 2 seconds remaining in the game giving the Mystics the 69-66 victory.
