NEW YORK (AP) -- Chamique Holdsclaw couldn't spark another
frenzied finish or a victory against the New York Liberty.
Holdsclaw, a New York City native, managed just 13 points as the
Washington Mystics dropped an 86-63 decision to the Liberty on
Saturday.
Last Sunday, Holdsclaw helped ignite a 20-2 run in the final
minutes of an 81-80 loss to New York. She scored 14 points during
the Mystics' rally, and finished with a career-high 31 points on
12-for-20 shooting.
"The miracle comeback wasn't there tonight," Holdsclaw said.
"We had defensive lapses. Every time we turned around they were
getting layups on us."
Crystal Robinson scored 16 points, including 4-for-5 from
3-point range, to lead the Liberty (4-3) to their third straight
victory.
"I'm just getting into a flow, thinking shoot first," said
Robinson, who is shooting 52 percent from 3-point range. "It takes
a lot of pressure off Vickie (Johnson). She carried us early in the
season when we were losing a lot of games."
Becky Hammon and Tari Phillips each scored 12 points, and
Phillips added 10 rebounds for her third double-double. Tamika
Whitmore had 11 points.
Reserve Helen Luz led Washington with 15 points and Vicky
Bullett added 12 for the Mystics (2-4), who have lost three
straight.
Holdsclaw, who sprained cartilage in her chest when she got
stepped on during a scramble at Detroit on Thursday, shot 6-for-14
from the field and had eight rebounds.
"Every team plays me," Holdsclaw said. "It's not just double
teams. When I catch the ball, the whole defense sucks in. It's
extra work off the ball, and I really need to focus on offensive
rebounds."
Liberty center Sue Wicks noticed Holdsclaw was off.
"I don't know how she's feeling," Wicks said. "The other
night she made some phenomenal shots off balance and fading away
and spinning. Tonight, she took the same kind of shots, they just
didn't fall."
Trailing 42-28 at halftime, Washington scored six straight
points in the second half to close within eight.
But Robinson, who finished 6-for-7 from the field, hit her
fourth 3-pointer to push the Liberty lead to 52-40 with 14:44
remaining.
"Right now, we're very easy to guard because we're not running
through our offense enough," said Washington's Nikki McCray. "But
we definitely have to play some defense. Crystal Robinson hit some
3s and our plan was not to let her hit 3s. She got one on the first
play of the game."
Holdslaw's put-back of her own miss pulled the Mystics within
54-44, but consecutive baskets by Johnson ignited an 11-0 New York
run.
Hammon's 3-pointer capped the spurt and extended the lead to
65-44 with 9:23 left. A basket by Bullett ended Washington's
three-minute scoring drought.
A 3-point play by Wicks gave the Liberty a 19-point lead, and
the Mystics never recovered.
"We don't want to come into any game and feel we need this
miraculous comeback," Washington assistant coach Marianne Stanley
said. "That's been a frustration for us not coming out on the
opening tip executing the way we can. There's too much talent on
this team to have the results we have."
The Liberty, who swept the Mystics in the first round of the
playoffs last season, outscored Washington 38-24 in the paint. New
York shot 58 percent from the field and finished 8-for-12 from
3-point range.
Holdsclaw, the No. 1 pick by the Mystics and 1999 rookie of the
year, said she'd like to put on a Liberty uniform someday.
"I love where I'm at in Washington, I'm about to buy a home
there," she said. "But I'd love to play for my home team. If I
could do it over, even though I love Washington, in my fantasy
world, I probably would have been here off the bat. "
Holdsclaw, who led Tennessee to three consecutive NCAA titles,
first became a star at Christ The King High School in Queens.
"This is where my success started," she said. "Who wouldn't
want to play in their hometown and have that support day in and day
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