Crystal Langhorne stars as Washington Mystics topple Atlanta Dream in O.T. - WNBA Recap
Forward-centre Crystal Langhorne notched up a game-high 30 points and clutched 13 rebounds to spearhead the Washington Mystics to an electrifying 98-90 overtime victory over the Eastern Conference champion Atlanta Dream at the
Philips Arena on Thursday night.
In addition to her game-best performance, Langhorne’s put back lay-up with 04:40 to go in the game, capping the Mystics 8-0 run that gave them an 82-80 lead - their first lead since late in the opening quarter.
Nicky Anosike also played well and followed Langhorne with 29 points and 13 boards for the injury-plagued Mystics, who were swept by Atlanta 2-0 in the 2010 conference semi-finals.
Guard Matee Ajavon provided a substantial support with 24 points, four assists, and four steals while Kelly Miller finished with 10 points, five rebounds, and five assists in the win. However, Miller committed nine turnovers.
Mystics played the game without two of their key players; Alana Beard out with bruised foot and rookie centre Ta'Shia Phillips suffering from an ankle injury. Both of the players are under day-to-day observation.
Erika DeSouza headed Atlanta with 20 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. However, the 29-year-old left the court with 2:44 to go in overtime because of an apparent nose injury.
Iziane Castro Marques posted 16 points and five assists while guard-forward Armintie Price came off the bench with 12 points in the defeat.
Guard Lindsey Harding had 11 points and Sancho Lyttle ended with 10 points in the season’s second consecutive defeat of the Dream.
Angel McCoughtry, a third-year pro out of Louisville, returned to the line-up from a knee injury, but played for just three minutes, adding two points.
Anosike scored the first bucket of the game for the Mystics but both teams missed some easy opportunities to score in the next three minutes of the first quarter. The teams then found their rhythm and played a very close game mid
through the second.
Price’s driving lay-up gave the Dream a 16-13 edge with two minutes and eight seconds to go in the opening quarter. Anosike’s turnaround jumper and a pair of free throw by Langhorne in the next minutes of the quarter put the Mystics
ahead by 17-16. Atlanta turned it on the last minute of the quarter with their 6-2 spurt, taking a 22-19 lead into the second.
Dream maintained their high pitch in the second quarter and lengthened their lead to 47-36 with 01:22 to go in the quarter. Washington scored the last four points of the second to cut the deficit to seven, 40-47, at halftime.
In a solidly contested third quarter, both teams scored 28 points apiece but the Dream still maintained a 75-68 lead, heading into the fourth.
Both teams played a very adjoining game until the last two minutes of the fourth quarter when Castro Marques came around with a jumper to put Atlanta ahead by 85-82. However, Washington’s Kelly Miller hit a sizzling three-pointer
to knot the game at 85 with 01:09 to go in the quarter, sending the game into overtime for good. Coco Miller of Atlanta missed a three-pointer and a wild runner in the last 35 seconds of the fourth that would have won the game.
The Mystics came out hard in the O.T. and held a 92-86 lead with 02:44 remaining in the game.Dream successfully made it a four-point contest, 94-90, with 35 seconds left. However, Washington went on a 4-0 run down the stretch to
walk away with a victory.
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