Washington won its fourth in a row and climbed to .500, in a tie for second. Alana Beard led the Mystics to a 53 point second half.

"It was a good win for our team," oach Adams said. "Beard stepped it up for us tonight. She blocked shots, had some great assists and even a steal. She's making us a better team."

In the Post today, Sally Jenkins offers a theory as to why Washington is doing better without Mique: "When Holdsclaw was active, some of the Mystics felt less directly responsible for the team's fate, so they simply did less. The most vivid evidence of that was their embarrassing showing against Indiana two weeks ago, when they were only able to muster 42 points. (Anyone who thinks Holdsclaw hasn't delivered around here just needed to check that score to understand how much the team leaned on her.) But since then, each and every one of the Mystics is playing as if they are directly accountable for their won-loss record (16-16), and that's a quality they can take into next season, no matter what the outcome of this one."