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The Washington Mystics (9-12) lost to the Phoenix Mercury (9-13), in a very sloppy, disjointed contest, 78-74.
The Good News
Kaleah Copper had 6 points, snagged 7 rebounds and dished 3 assists off the bench, in 25 minutes. Her free throw percentage is not great. At all, today 50%, but her energy and enthusiasm, equaling rebounds and messing defenses up as a rookie, speak for themselves.
No one wants to hear this evidently unless you're in D.C. or Belgium, but this is Meesseman's team. It simply isn't a party if no one else knows how to dance. Another plus 20 point game with double and triple teams dripping off of her. That tells me that she has turned into a bonafide star player.
And I think there may some whole-sale changes in the line-up going into the Olympic break.
The Bad News
Poor shooting from everyone not named Emma Meesseman (53% 100% from three),
Tayler Hill (25%), Tierra Ruffin-Pratt (50% four attempts), Ivory Latta (33%) and Bria Hartley (38%), Cloud made 1-of-2 shots, as a starter. There was nothing pretty about it. The poor shooting forced bad decisions into 14 turnovers. The worst part was that the Mystics weren't out of the game, once again, the whole time.
Yes, there are encouraging signs, but the Styx cannot be the 'almost' team.
Oh, and for the Mercury, Diana Taurasi picked up her 7th technical and will be suspended for the next game. That's not an ideal way to get a win.
The Neutral News
Again, the Mystics have a 9-12 record and are sixth in the overall standings. And have the tie-break on the Atlanta Dream. So the Mystics still do not suck. : )
But SOMEONE has to show up to help Meesse out. I just think the law of averages says it is going to happen sooner than later.