Game Info 

Verizon Center | 7pm | Watch: Monumental Sports Network | #MysticsDream Tickets

Probable Starters

Mystics (5-7): G – Cloud, G – Hill, F – Ruffin-Pratt, F – Meesseman, C – Dolson

Dream (7-3): G – Clarendon, G – Hayes, F – McCoughtry, F – Gray, C – Williams

Five-Game Homestand 

The Mystics have dropped their first five home games of the season, but now will have a two week stretch to hopefully not only win their first home game, but also build a little momentum in what has been an up and down start to the season.  The ‘Stics will play their next five games at home, starting with Saturday night’s contest against the Dream.   They’ll host the Fever, Mercury, and Lynx next week before welcoming the Stars on Camp Day on June 29th to wrap up the homestand.  They’ll then hit the road for a five-game road trip spanning two weeks in July.

At 5-7, the Mystics are a little over one third of the way through the season. Only the unbeaten Sparks and Lynx have more road wins than the Mystics, yet somehow Washington remains the only team in the WNBA without a home win.  This has been in part due to the schedule, as the Mystics’ home opponents are a combined 35-17, while their road opponents have a combined record of 25-38.  Still, this has been a fairly odd way to open up a WNBA season.  And head coach Mike Thibault seems ready to turn the tide.

“We’ve played five playoff teams at home, shorthanded for sure in three of them, we were really bad in the L.A. game and third quarter of the Minnesota game and other than that we’ve been competitive.  It will be interesting to see how we play now with some regularity and a lot healthier than we were, and then we won’t have excuses and we’ll just have to execute.  If you take the focus that we’ve had in these last four or five games at both ends of the court, then we’ll do what we’re supposed to, if not then we’re not as good as we think we are.”

Last Time Vs. Atlanta 

The last time these two teams met, the Mystics had their way with the Dream, beating them 86-79 on June 5th in Atlanta.  Five Mystics scored in double figures, led by Tayler Hill’s 17 points.  Ally Malott came off the bench to score a season-high 10 points in 19 minutes of action.  The Mystics bench outscored the Dream bench 40-14, which was one of the biggest reasons the ‘Stics were able to take down the first-place Dream on their home floor.  Despite shooting just 38% in the game, the Mystics outrebounded the Dream 43-35, thanks to a season-high 12 boards (six offensive) from Stef Dolson and the team  held the Dream to just 39% shooting.

“I think we stung them in more ways than one, they counted on turning us over and getting to the free-throw line and we got to the line more than they did, we mixed our defenses, we played some zone and some man, they’ll be more prepared for that this time, but we’ll be sitting at home waiting for them because they have to play the night before.  Hopefully Chicago wears them out, but we can’t count on that, we have to do what we’re supposed to do and play with that same energy we’ve played with on the road,” said Thibault.

Coach Thibault got what he hoped for in terms of Atlanta’s game Friday night, as the Dream won in overtime and had four starters play at least 36 minutes.

This should allow the Mystics’ depth to play a bigger role and Thibault knows how important that can be.

“I think it’s huge, right now we’re middle of the pack in bench points, last year we were top three, I think the more we can use our depth to wear people down, the better off it is.   If that happens, coaches are forced to go back to their starters to play longer minutes then they want sometimes or you can get a run at an opportune time and you can open up an eight or 10 point lead, which is what we did in Atlanta, we did for stretches in Connecticut we just let them get back, but if your bench plays like that you can break a game open.”

Red-Hot Emma 

Emma Meesseman has been one of the hottest players in the WNBA over the last two weeks and is coming off a season-high tying 23 point performance in Tuesday’s triple-overtime win in Connecticut.   She also made a career-high four 3-pointers and played a career-high 46 minutes in Tuesday’s win.  She’s averaging 21.7 points over her last three games on 58% shooting from the field.

Shooting from the perimeter has been something Thibault has encouraged Meesseman to do for the past few years, but she may now be stating to find a comfort with the WNBA 3-point line.

“She’s finally used to it, she sees the value of it now.  Her second year here we had to give her a math formula; she wanted to be a 50% shooter on everything and it was hard for her to understand that you can shoot 33% from the 3-point line and it’s the same as 50% from the two.  It’s literally one of those things players don’t think about until they are doing it.”

The Mystics and Dream tip-off at 7pm tonight.