ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Orlando's Elaine Powell is feeling healthy
again -- and hurting the opposition.
Powell scored a career-high 20 points on 8-for-9 shooting as the
Miracle beat the Washington Mystics 67-59 Saturday night.
Nykesha Sales added 21 points and Taj McWilliams-Franklin had 13
for Orlando (3-6), which won back-to-back games for the first
time this season an earned their first home victory.
Chamique Holdsclaw had 18 points and 15 rebounds for the Mystics
(2-7), who have lost six in a row.
Powell has played in only 38 games the last two season due to
injuries. She had a stress fracture in 1999 and a knee ligament
tear last year. In 1998, the point guard missed the ABL All-Star
Game because of a foot injury.
Powell is showing the results of a strenuous offseason rehab
program, averaging 13.9 points, 3.3 assists and 3.1 rebounds.
"I cannot compliment Elaine Powell enough and how she has
played night in and night out," Orlando coach Carolyn Peck said.
"I call her the silent assassin -- she's real quiet out there and
the other teams don't hear a lot about her because they talk about
our all-stars for the previous two years."
Orlando, which trailed by 13 in the first half, broke open a
close game with nine consecutive points late in the second half.
Powell had a 3-pointer and a full-speed swooping layup in the run,
which gave the Miracle a 64-54 lead with 1:30 remaining.
Powell hit all four of her 3-point attempts. Her previous career
high was 16 points.
Washington shot well early and charged to a 31-18 lead with 6:13
remaining in the first half. Holdsclaw had seven points and Helen
Luz added a pair of 3-pointers in the Mystics' 22-7 run over seven
minutes.
"We are starting to learn how to give up the ball and play
together," Washington coach Tom Maher said.
The Mystics hit 12 of their first 20 shots, but only nine of 35
(25.6 percent) the rest of the way.
"I challenged this team at halftime to play defense," Peck
said.
In a 4:27 stretch bridging the first and second halves, Orlando
outscored Washington 16-3 to grab the lead. Powell's layin gave the
Miracle a 39-38 lead with 17 minutes to play.
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ALSO SEE
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Washington team page
Orlando team page
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