Mystics Insider

The Washington Mystics announced Tuesday afternoon that Women's Basketball Hall of Famer Marianne Stanley will join the coaching staff in the upcoming season to work primarily with post players. This will be Stanley's second stint with the Mystics, after spending time in the organization as an assistant coach in 2001 and head coach from 2002 to 2003.

A decorated and well-respected coach on both the college and WNBA levels, Stanley spent the previous two seasons as an assistant with the Los Angeles Sparks. But when Los Angeles bypassed her in December for the Sparks' head coaching job after Michael Cooper moved on to the Southern California's women's team, she decided to leave. (You can read more about the Sparks' coaching search in the LA Times, here.)

"It was like Christmas in January for us," Mystics General Manager Angela Taylor said.

The 2010 WNBA schedule was released yesterday, and the Washington Mystics will tip off the season May 15 at the Indiana Fever. The home opener is May 21 against the New York Liberty.

Schedule highlights include:
* The annual camp day game for local children's camps and groups will be July 21 at 11:30 a.m. against the Atlanta Dream.
* The Mystics will play the majority of their games on weekends, with three Fridays, four Saturdays and five Sundays. The rest of the contests are distributed across two Tuesdays, one Wednesday and two Thursdays.
* Washington will host Indiana for an ESPN2 game on June 29.
* The Mystics will again be on National television when they visit the Dream in Atlanta on Aug. 3.

"We are excited for the 2010 season and we are pleased to once again provide WNBA basketball at affordable prices," Mystics Chief Operating Officer Greg Bibb said in a statement.

Here is the complete schedule:

May
Sat. 15 AT Indiana 7 pm
Sun. 16 AT Minnesota 6 pm
Fri. 21 New York 7 pm
Sun. 23 AT Connecticut 3 pm
Tue. 25 AT Seattle 7 pm
Fri. 28 AT Los Angeles 7:30 pm
Sun. 30 Connecticut 4 pm
June
Sat. 5 Atlanta 7 pm
Fri. 11 AT Chicago 7 pm
Sat. 12 New York 7 pm
Sat. 19 Chicago 7 pm
Thu. 24 Los Angeles 7 pm
Fri. 25 AT Chicago 7:30 pm
Sun. 27 Phoenix 4 pm
Tue. 29 Indiana 7 pm
July
Thu. 1 AT Phoenix 7 pm
Sat. 3 AT Tulsa 7 pm
Thu. 15 AT New York noon
Sun. 18 Chicago 4 pm
Wed. 21 Atlanta 11:30 am
Sat. 24 Indiana 7 pm
Tue. 27 AT Connecticut 7:30 pm
Thu. 29 San Antonio 7 pm
Fri. 30 AT Indiana 7 pm
August
Sun. 1 Tulsa 4 pm
Tue. 3 AT Atlanta 7:30 pm
Fri. 6 AT New York 7:30 pm
Sun. 8 AT Connecticut 5 pm
Tue. 10 Connecticut 7 pm
Fri. 13 Minnesota 7 pm
Sun. 15 Seattle 4 pm
Tue. 17 AT San Antonio 7 pm
Fri. 20 New York 7 pm
Sun. 22 AT Atlanta 3 pm

The Washington Mystics selected 5-8 guard Kristin Haynie with the sixth pick in the WNBA's dispersal draft of Sacramento Monarchs players, which was held via conference call today.

"We are thrilled to add a true champion like Kristin Haynie to our Mystics roster. She has been a solid back-up point guard in this league for the last several years and we feel that she complements Lindsey Harding and our perimeter nucleus," General Manager Angela Taylor said in a statement. "Her size, ability to shoot the ball, and rebounding from the guard position are nice assets to add. In addition to her successful collegiate career at Michigan State, she was part of the Monarchs championship run in 2005. We hope that she can bring that same championship mentality to DC." [Added at 10 a.m. on 12-15-2009]

Last season, Haynie averaged 3.1 points in about 11 minutes per game for the Monarchs and the Detroit Shock. She's a fourth-year player out of Michigan State.

The New York Liberty selected Nicole Powell with the first pick, the Minnesota Lynx chose Rebekkah Brunson with the second pick, the Connecticut Sun took DeMya Walker with the third selection, the Chicago Sky selected Courtney Paris fourth, and the San Antonio Silver Stars took Maryland's Laura Harper to round out the top five picks.

Any player on the Monarchs roster at the conclusion of the 2009 season was eligible for selection, including restricted free agents Kristin Haynie, Chelsea Newton and Scholanda Robinson. Unrestricted free agents Kara Lawson, Ticha Penicheiro and Hamchetou Maiga-Ba were not eligible for selection. These players, along with anyone not selected can begin negotiating with any team once the free agency period begins on Jan. 15.

The Monarchs, a perennial power in the Western Conference, folded on Nov. 20. The WNBA will begin the 2010 season with 12 teams.

It's official, one of the WNBA's most successful teams is relocating. After rumors swirled and reports surfaced this week, the league has announced that the Detroit Shock are moving to Tulsa, Okla.

Here's what Tom Wilson, President of Palace Sports and Entertainment in Detroit, said about the decision to give up the franchise. You can read the league's full release here.

"This decision was one of the toughest we have ever made; it was not reached easily," Wilson said. "The Shock has been a true force in the WNBA, but the fact of the matter is that the economic realities have caused us to make this decision. We deeply appreciate what the Shock have meant to Detroit and want to publicly thank the players, coaches and the entire organization for their class, commitment and championships. They represented Detroit well and we are delighted that they have found a new and exciting home in Tulsa. We are sure the fans in Tulsa will quickly embrace these dedicated players."

You can also check out stories from the Detroit Free Press, The Detroit News and Tulsa World about the move.

Former Tulsa and Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson will be the Tulsa team's coach and general manager.

The WNBA's 13 coaches selected Marissa Coleman as one of five rookies, regardless of position, to be named to the league's All Rookie team. Despite spraining her ankle in the middle of the season Coleman averaged 6.1 points and 2.7 points for the Mystics this season off the bench.

The other members of the 2009 All Rookie Team are: forward Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta), forward DeWanna Bonner (Phoenix), guard Shavonte Zellous (Detroit) and point guard Renee Montgomery (Minnesota).

Check out the league's full release here.

The Mystics have led the Indiana Fever heading into the fourth quarter in five out of the six games between the two teams this season. Each game has been decided, or significantly impacted, by the fourth quarter and also free throws.

Indiana set a new franchise playoff record with 32 free throws made in their series-clinching 81-74 win over the Mystics at Conseco Fieldhouse. In order, the Fever made 26, 28, 23, 19, 23 and 32 free throws in each of their match ups with Washington this season.

"I'm proud of our team," Mystics Coach Julie Plank said. "I've been proud of them all year. I thought we outplayed them in every facet of the game. . . . There was a lot of discrepancy at the free throw line and that's hard to overcome."

Greetings from Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis where everyone is getting ready for Game 2 of the WNBA's Eastern Conference Semifinal as the Mystics try to extend their season. Tonight's game is being televised on NBA-TV and I'll also be tweeting from press row during the game. You can follow me at @WPKatieCarrera.

Here are some keys to the game for the Mystics:

It seems as though all of the Mystics' games against the Fever this season have come down to a fourth-quarter battle of wills. And for the fifth time in 2009, Washington was unable to overcome Indiana, falling 88-79, in the opener of the first-round Eastern Conference playoff series. The Fever has outscored Washington 134-91 in the fourth quarter in the five games between the two teams this year.

The Mystics now face the daunting task of two must-win games at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis if they hope to remain in the playoffs.

"This isn't the only game we've done this," Lindsey Harding said of the fourth quarter errors. "This is deja vu all over again. We just have to be able to be physically and mentally strong to fight in the fourth quarter. It's almost as if they're playing hard but then they turn it on to another level. We have the capability to do that, we just need to learn and do it."

Sure, the Mystics never quite put this one out of the Fever's reach -- allowing Katie Douglas and Tamika Catchings to single-handedly keep Indiana in the game in the second quarter -- but they played a solid game through three quarters. But as the second half continued, the far-too-familiar signs of a breakdown emerged again.

Here's a primer to help get you ready for the Mystics' playoff opener tonight against the Indiana Fever in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at the University of Maryland's Comcast Center.

First, I've received a few questions about the playoff format. It is a best-of-three series and the second and third (if necessary) games will both be in Indianapolis. The conference championships is also a best-of-three, while the league championship series is best-of-five.

If you have any reservations about the Mystics adjusting to Comcast Center, Marissa Coleman might be able to ease your concerns. "It's a shooter's gym and we have a lot of pure shooters on our team. I think we'll do really well there."

Rather than put it into almost every positional discussion, here's the blanket reminder that the Fever boast quite a bit more big-game experience and playing time together than the young Mystics, the youngest team in the playoffs with an average age of 26. Washington is the least experienced team in the postseason with just 31 playoff games. Indiana players have seen action in 154.

The WNBA officially announced that Mystics forward Crystal Langhorne was named the 2009 Most Improved Player of the Year. Langhorne received 19 of 40 votes for the award with the next closest vote-getter being Atlanta's Sancho Lyttle with 6.

Langhorne will be presented with the award in a pregame ceremony before tonight's tipoff.

Check out my story about Langhorne's turnaround season from today's paper here and the league's release here.