Mystics Comeback One for the Record Books

Why yes, you CAN call it a comeback.

The Washington Mystics overcame a 24-point deficit in the second half of Sunday's game to defeat the Los Angeles Sparks 89-85 in overtime.

As Ted Leonsis put it, "We overcame it. We are proud. We are united."

The second-half comeback was the largest in WNBA history, beating the previous record of 21 points held by Detroit. The Mystics were only 1 point shy of the all-time WNBA comeback record, also held by Detroit. 

“They have big hearts and have played through injuries, played through disappointment, played through a lot of things and have tremendous character and refused to give up," head coach Trudi Lacey said. "I'm very proud of them.”

Matee Ajavon and Crystal Langhorne carried the Mystics, scoring 27 and 24 points. Langhorne led the team in rebounds (14) and assists (5).

After scoring only 25 points in the first half, the Mystics put 32 points on the board in the fourth quarter to force overtime.

They proceeded to score the first five points of overtime, ultimately resulting in the win.

“That's why you play two halves. We didn't come out with the defensive focus that we have played with the previous three games, Lacey said. "We were making a lot of mental errors defensively which was giving them a lot of open 3's and drives to the basket so you know at halftime we just talked about our one on one defense and not giving up 3's and just simplified our offense and things started to go our way.”

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