Mystics win over LA Sparks, 75-63.

Beard Soars High



Alana Beard proved why she’s the WNBA Player of Week on more than just a few occasions.

Alana carried her team, scoring the team’s first 10 points in the first twelve minutes of the 1st quarter, on her own and was the high scorer for the team with twenty-six.

The Mystics had an early lead in the first quarter over the L.A. Sparks, leading 17-2, and pulled ahead even further with a 22-5 lead by the end of the first quarter.
Beard produced thirteen of those points.

While the Mystics owned the first half, shooting 67% from the free throw line, and 50% from the field, the Sparks changed the game plan going into the second half and started a comeback stent that brought them within ten points.

To their credit, the Sparks shot 100% from the free-throw line in the third quarter and continued closing in on the Mystics, even tieing the game, 63-63, at 3:30 going into the fourth quarter.

“We just want to come out strong early and get the lead, but we got to work on keeping the lead”, said Marissa Coleman.

Coleman, returning to play action, at home, since being sidelined with an upper ankle strain sustained in a mid-June practice session, hit a three-pointer with a minute left going into half-time, and was also instrumental defensively, blocking two L.A. shots in the game.

Shannon Bobbitt and Bettie Lennox led the Sparks with ten points each. Former Mystic, DeLisha Milton Jones, traded to the Sparks last year, scored eight points in the loss.

The Mystics were quite successful in ensuring the WNBA’s reigning MVP, Candice Parker, didn’t get the chance to score in last night’s game.

Parker, returning to the NBA lineup, post-maternity leave, was kept to a mere two points.

“Candace is a great player”, said Mystics head coach Julie Plank. “So, we teamed, and doubled teamed Candace tonight.”

The Mystics pulled off the 75-63 victory in front of the home crowd that repeatedly chanted “Beat L.A.!”

Sparks’ Lisa Leslie, who many were looking to see in action, did not play and it was reported that Leslie may not have made the trip to DC with her teammates.

This season will be the last season of play in the WNBA for Lisa Leslie as she retires after 15 years combined in the WNBA and in international play.

The Mystics face the San Antonio Silver Stars at home this Wednesday.

"I'm real proud of the way our team played tonight", said Plank.


[Photo: Wallace Barron for DC UrbanSports]

Kastles Get First 'W'

With A Win On the Road.

From Washington Kastles news wire....

Williams and the Kastles (1-4) secured their first victory of the season by a score of 24-17 against the Boston Lobsters (4-3) on their home court.

Fresh off ladies' singles and doubles championships at last week's Wimbledon, the 22-time Grand Slam winner showed her teammates and opponents what makes her the best in the world. Playing the women's singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles events, Williams won a total of 15 games, while losing just five.

In the first set, Scott Oudsema quickly found himself down 3-0 against former top 20 player Jan-Michael Gambill in men's singles. At that point, Oudsema became more aggressive attacking the net to hold his serve and breaking back in the next game. The two men held throughout the rest of the set and ended up in a tie-breaker with Oudsema losing a well-played and hard fought match.

Looking like the fashion icon that she is, Williams lit up the stadium when she took the court for the women's singles in her custom Kastles blue and red uniform down to the shoes. In her first appearance on a tennis court since Wimbledon, Williams faced the Lobsters' Raquel Kops-Jones. Williams looked like she didn't miss a beat with an impressive all-court exhibition of power and finesse. Kops-Jones competed hard but the outcome was never in doubt as Williams won all 10 points when she got her first serve in and won the set 5-2.

Williams then teamed with French Open doubles champion and Wimbledon mixed doubles finalist Leander Paes. These two world-class athletes on top of their games were too much for the Lobsters duo of Kops-Jones and James Auckland, neither of whom have reached a Grand Slam final. The 5-3 win gave the Kastles a 14-10 halftime lead.

Next up was another Kastles dream team, with Williams and Wimbledon ladies' doubles finalist Rennae Stubbs pairing to form a Kastles' women's doubles team, that has 17 doubles Grand Slam titles between them. The Kastles pair shut out, 5-0, the Lobsters team of Kops-Jones and Stephanie Foretz, both of whom are experienced and accomplished doubles players, in a dominating display.

With a 19-10 lead heading into men's doubles, Oudsema and Paes fought hard to win the final set of the night against Gambill and James Auckland before losing 5-4 in a tiebreaker. Going into overtime, the Kastles pair simply had to win a final game to close out their first win of the season and did so when Paes held serve in the third game of overtime.

Williams and the Kastles will try to put together consecutive wins tonight as they head to New York to take on the Eastern Conference-leading Sportimes at 7 p.m.

Earlier this week, Anna Kournikova kicked off a perfect summer evening in Washington by signing autographs and taking pictures with fans as they entered Kastles Stadium, where they witnessed the Kastles take a thrilling 12-11 halftime lead before eventually falling 20-15 to the St. Louis Aces.

Olga Puchkova starred for the Kastles, beating Aces opponent Ashley Weinhold 5-2 in the women's singles event.


USTA FAMILY DAY THIS SUNDAY!

This Sunday, July 12th is USTA Family Day as the Kastles face the defending WTT Champion New York Buzz at Kastles Stadium.

Before the match, the Kastles and USTA Mid-Atlantic will be throwing a "block party," which is guaranteed to be a blast for the whole family. Beginning at 3 p.m., the grounds will be filled with festival-themed activities such as a moon bounce, face-painters, stilt-walkers and tennis-themed arts and crafts! There will be a QuickStart court available to fans of all ages, as well as a QuickStart exhibition of USTA MAS youths playing on a specially-built 60-foot court at Kastles Stadium.

As an added bonus, all fans will receive free "Gecko" hats courtesy of GEICO and, as always, fans 16 and under will be able to meet and receive autographs from all the players after the Kastles match!

The Kastles match against the Buzz will have an early 5 p.m. start, making it perfect for a family outing to the city.

For individual match tickets visit ticketmaster.com or call (202) 397-7328.

Head Coaches Named For WNBA All Star Game

The WNBA announced that the head coaches for the 2009 WNBA All-Star Game will be Dan Hughes of the San Antonio Silver Stars and Lin Dunn of the Indiana Fever.

Hughes will lead the Western Conference All-Star squad and Dunn will be at the helm of the Eastern Conference team. This will be the first time either coach has earned the honor.

Under WNBA guidelines, the coach of the previous season's conference champion serves as the All-Star coach for that conference, provided that the coach remains in the same position. Hughes earned the honor by virtue of the Silver Stars’ 2008 Western Conference championship.

Since Bill Laimbeer, head coach of the 2008 Eastern Conference champion Detroit Shock, stepped down from his post in June, a new coach was selected using previously established guidelines. The Eastern Conference head coach is being selected based on the club with the best winning percentage through games on July 15. With a current mark of 8-2, Dunn has already secured the honor.

This method was last used when John Whisenant, head coach and general manager of the 2006 Western Conference champion Sacramento Monarchs, relinquished his coaching role the following year to focus on his front office duties.

The 2009 WNBA All-Star Game will be played on Saturday, July 25 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. and will be televised nationally on ABC at 3:30 p.m. ET.

Starting lineups for the game are determined by fan participation via the 2009 WNBA All-Star Balloting presented by T-Mobile. The results of the balloting, which ran from June 14 through July 7 in WNBA arenas and on WNBA.com, will be announced on July 14.

A limited number of tickets for the 2009 WNBA All-Star Game are still available by going online to ticketmaster.com.

Mystics News
Mystics Host Ladies Night - August 14th. See 2008 photos.
Mystics Take on Lisa Leslie, Candace Parker, former Mystic, DeLisha Milton-Jones,
and the rest of the Los Angeles Sparks this Saturday at home. Game time 7pm.

Wizards Serve Up Mini Camp!

The Wizards announced that they will hold a mini-camp for summer league invitees at Verizon Center from July 10-13.

Dominic McGuire, Javaris Crittenton, JaVale McGee and Nick Young will participate in Summer League. More.

Related
Summer League Invitees
Goodman League