Washington 85, Utah 76
Game 4: Friday night at MCI Center
Starzz 36 40 - 76
Mystics 44 41 - 85
First half: Washington jumped up 11-6 and was obviously in for a good night when it made five turnovers and a foul in one quick stint but stayed ahead 13-9, thanks to rebounding, then went on an 8-0 run. It was ahead 17 minutes later, 29-12, before coach Denise Taylor went to Chantel Tremitiere at the point in desperation. Tremitiere (torn calf muscle) wasn't supposed to play until Sunday. But she got the Starzz shooting. They made a 9-0 run. But each time Utah would get within five or six, the Mystics would quell the uprising with a crushing three or a steal and layup.
Second half: Wendy Palmer made a layin that was taken away when Kim Williams was called for an offensive foul, and immediately, Elena Baranova was whistled for a foul against Nikki McCray as she made a layin at the other end for a five-point swing that put Washington ahead 13, 65-52. It led again by 13 when Tremitiere put a saddle on Heidi Burge and rode her down on a layin attempt with 4:42 left. Burge made a free throw for a 73-60 lead, and a Burge layin negated a Baranova hook to make it 75-62. That's when Utah came back with a LaTonya Johnson basket, Olympia Scott steal and layin followed by a Tricia Bader three and Scott pump-fake and driving layin - a 9-0 run that made it 75-71 with 2:47 left. A Starzz press forced a turnover at 2:35, but Bader tipped a skip pass to Johnson, the ball went out of bounds, and McCray scored eight of the Mystics' last 10.
Records: Starzz 2-2, Mystics 1-3
Quotable: "We were down by 17, and it took a lot of energy to come back. At home, that is one thing. On the road, it is another. We just didn't have enough time to pull it out." - Starzz guard Chantel Tremitiere
Next up: Starzz at New York Sunday, 2 p.m.