Alana Beard News

During a five-on-five drill Thursday at U.S. women's national team practice, Lindsey Harding saw a trap coming at her in the corner.

Guard Renee Montgomery, the former Capital and South Charleston standout, was invited to participate in the U.S. Olympic women's basketball tryouts that began Wednesday in Washington, D.C. Guard Renee Montgomery, the former Capital and South Charleston standout, was invited to participate in the U.S. Olympic women's basketball tryouts that began ...

The most incredible year of Renee Montgomery's athletic career is about to get so much better.

In their first playoff series since 2006, the Mystics fell to the no. 1 ranked Indiana Fever in back to back games.

The day after the Washington Mystics were swept out of the WNBA playoffs by the Indiana Fever, General Manager Angela Taylor turned her thoughts to the future. Although the Mystics accomplished a primary goal for the first year of the franchise's latest rebuilding effort by reaching the postseason for the first time in three seasons, plenty of work remains.

Taylor's next task is to find ways for Washington to build on its 16-18 record and take the next step toward playing for a league championship in the next three to five years.

Tamika Catchings tallied game-bests of 24 points and 16 rebounds to help the Indiana Fever sweep the Washington Mystics with an 81-74 overtime victory in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semi- finals.

In pregame warmups, Marissa Coleman swished nearly every shot. The Washington Mystics rookie, who was preparing for her first WNBA playoff game, was not wide-eyed or overwhelmed, but rather comfortable and right at home.

WNBA Playoffs: Fever eliminate Mystics Seattle Storm's Sue Bird gets a pass off in front of Los Angeles Sparks' Betty Lennox in the second half of game two of a WNBA first round basketball game Friday, Sept.

Tamika Catchings talked earlier this summer about having her kettle on "boil" all of the time.

The scenario for the Washington Mystics was clear heading into the regular season's final weekend.

A look at the four first-round, best-of-3 series in the WNBA playoffs, which start Wednesday: EASTERN CONFERENCE No.

The New York Liberty closed a disappointing season with a feel-good win, their easiest of the year.

The Washington Mystics and Chicago Sky are locked in a tight race for two of the Eastern Conference's final three playoff spots, but they could have something else in common heading into the final stretch.

All-Star center Sylvia Fowles made her first appearance for the Sky Friday night since suffering a sprained left ankle Aug.

WASHINGTON While Congress continues to debate health care nearby on Capitol Hill, there was nothing debatable about the way the Washington Mystics took care of its own health issues Thursday night in enhancing their WNBA playoff hopes with a 78-67 win over the Seattle Storm at the Verizon Center.

The Atlanta Dream selected Louisville star Angel McCoughtry with the top pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft on Thursday.

On the Washington Mystics' recent road trip, coach Julie Plank felt it was time to take a proactive approach with Marissa Coleman.

Fresh from setting two world records, Usain Bolt is ready to go faster. The Jamaican sprinter, who took part in a ceremonial kickoff celebrating the start of the Spanish soccer league at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, said he can improve on his record times of 9.58 seconds in the 100 meters and 19.19 in the 200.

If it had been a playoff game -- or simply a game with a closer score -- when Alana Beard rolled her ankle against the Seattle Storm on Tuesday, it would have been impossible to keep the Washington Mystics' all-star on the bench. But with her team trailing, 50-31, with just more than seven minutes remaining in the third quarter, the decision to rest Beard was easy.

Beard played 17 minutes against Seattle, her fewest in any game this season. She wasn't the only player who received a break this week.

Two victories last week, one of them against the best team in the WNBA, has the Seattle Storm building momentum.