2009 Washington Mystics season

The 2009 WNBA season is the 12th season for the Washington Mystics franchise of the Women's National Basketball Association. The Mystics reached the playoffs for the first time in three years. They lost to the Indiana Fever in the first round in a sweep.

2009 Washington Mystics season
Coach	Julie Plank
Arena	Verizon Center
Attendance	11,338 per game
Results
Record	16–18 (.471)
Place	4th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Lost First Round
Team Leaders
Points	Beard (15.9)
Rebounds	Langhorne (8.0)
Assists	Harding (4.7)
← 2008 season 2010 season →

Offseason

Dispersal Draft

Based on the Mystics' 2008 record, they would pick 2nd in the Houston Comets dispersal draft. The Mystics picked Matee Ajavon.

WNBA draft

The following are the Mystics' selections in the 2009 WNBA draft.

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/Team/Country
1	2	Marissa Coleman	United States	Maryland
2	23 (from Conn., via Minn.)	Camille LeNoir	United States	Southern California
2	24 (from Det.)	Jelena Milovanovic	Serbia	Serbia
3	28	Josephine Owino	Kenya	Union

Transactions

• June 16: The Mystics signed Kristen Mann and waived Josephine Owino.
• June 5: The Mystics waived Bernice Mosby.
• June 4: The Mystics waived Kristen Mann and Kelly Schumacher.
• June 2: The Mystics waived Eshaya Murphy.
• June 1: The Mystics waived Kiesha Brown.
• May 11: The Mystics signed Kelly Schumacher waived Coco Miller.
• May 1: The Mystics signed Kiesha Brown and waived Crystal Smith and Camille LeNoir.
• April 15: The Mystics waived Laurie Koehn, Krystal Vaughn, and Andrea Gardner.
• February 9: The Mystics signed free agent Chasity Melvin and waived Miriam Sy and Zane Teilane.
• February 6: The Mystics signed Andrea Gardner, Laurie Koehn and Crystal Smith to training camp contracts.
• January 30: The Mystics acquired Lindsey Harding, the 23rd pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft, and the second-round pick in the 2010 Draft from the Minnesota Lynx in exchange for the 9th and the 15th picks in the 2009 WNBA Draft.
• January 20: The Mystics claimed Kristen Mann off waivers.
• September 14, 2008: The Mystics signed Coco Miller to a two-year extension.
• August 12, 2008: The Mystics received a second-round pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft (24th overall) from the Detroit Shock as part of the Taj McWilliams-Franklin/Tasha Humphrey transaction.

Date	Trade
August 12, 2008	To Washington Mystics	To Detroit Shock
	24th pick in 2009 Draft, Tasha Humphrey, Eshaya Murphy	Taj McWilliams-Franklin
January 30, 2009	To Washington Mystics	To Minnesota Lynx
	Lindsey Harding, 23rd pick in 2009 Draft, second-round pick in 2010 Draft	9th and 15th picks in 2009 Draft

Free agents

Additions

Player	Signed	Former team
Matee Ajavon	December 8, 2008	Houston Comets
Lindsey Harding	January 30, 2009	Minnesota Lynx
Chasity Melvin	February 9, 2009	Chicago Sky
Kristen Mann	June 16, 2009	Washington Mystics

Subtractions

Player	Left	New team
Andrea Gardner	April 15, 2009	free agent
Laurie Koehn	April 15, 2009	Phoenix Mercury
Krystal Vaughn	April 15, 2009	free agent
Crystal Smith	May 1, 2009	free agent
Camille LeNoir	May 1, 2009	free agent
Coco Miller	May 11, 2009	Atlanta Dream
Bernice Mosby	June 5, 2009	free agent
Josephine Owino	June 16, 2009	free agent

Roster

2009 Washington Mystics roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Height Weight From G 22 Ajavon, Matee 5' 8" (1.73m) 160 lb (73kg) Rutgers G/F 20 Beard, Alana 5' 11" (1.8m) 160 lb (73kg) Duke PG 32 Blue, Nikki 5' 8" (1.73m) 163 lb (74kg) UCLA G/F 4 Coleman, Marissa 6' 1" (1.85m) 180 lb (82kg) Maryland PF 25 Currie, Monique 6' 0" (1.83m) 177 lb (80kg) Duke G 10 Harding, Lindsey 5' 8" (1.73m) 139 lb (63kg) Duke C 1 Langhorne, Crystal 6' 2" (1.88m) 184 lb (83kg) Maryland F 24 Mann, Kristen 6' 1" (1.85m) 185 lb (84kg) UC Santa Barbara F/C 44 Melvin, Chasity 6' 3" (1.91m) 185 lb (84kg) NC State F 33 Mosby, Bernice 6' 1" (1.85m) 140 lb (64kg) Baylor C 43 Sanford, Nakia 6' 4" (1.93m) 200 lb (91kg) Kansas	Head coach Julie Plank (Ohio State) Assistant coaches Trudi Lacey (NC State) Lubomyr Lichonczak (Idaho) Vicky Bullett (Maryland) Athletic trainer Navin Hettiarachchi (West Virginia) Strength and conditioning coach Lisa Ciaravella (Elon) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured   WNBA roster page

Season standings

Eastern Conference	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Conf.
Indiana Fever x	22	12	.647	–	14–3	8–9	17–5
Atlanta Dream x	18	16	.529	4.0	12–5	6–11	10–12
Detroit Shock x	18	16	.529	4.0	11–6	7–10	11–11
Washington Mystics x	16	18	.471	6.0	11–6	5–12	10–12
Chicago Sky o	16	18	.471	6.0	12–5	4–13	10–12
Connecticut Sun o	16	18	.471	6.0	12–5	4–13	9–12
New York Liberty o	13	21	.382	9.0	8–9	5–12	8–13

Schedule

Preseason

2009 Game Log: Preseason Game Date Time (ET) Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 1 May 21 11:00am @ New York 71-77 Sanford (17) Sanford (8) Currie (2) Madison Square Garden 15,958 0-1 2 May 28 11:30am New York 74-56 Ajavon (17) Coleman, Langhorne (6) Ajavon (3) Verizon Center 9,287 1-1

Regular season

2009 Game Log: Regular Season
June Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 1 June 6 4:00pm @ Connecticut 82-70 Coleman (16) Sanford, Langhorne (7) Harding (7) Mohegan Sun Arena 7,191 1-0 2 June 7 4:00pm Atlanta 77-71 Beard (27) Langhorne (8) Harding (7) Verizon Center 11,759 2-0 3 June 10 7:30pm @ Detroit 75-69 Beard (15) Melvin (9) Harding (5) Palace of Auburn Hills 7,329 3-0 4 June 19 7:30pm @ Atlanta 81-93 Beard (20) Langhorne (10) Currie, Harding (7) Philips Arena 6,050 3-1 6 June 20 7:00pm Chicago 81-72 Beard (31) Melvin (9) Beard (5) Verizon Center 11,745 4-1 6 June 25 7:00pm Phoenix 87-93 Beard (21) Langhorne (12) Harding (9) Verizon Center 9,808 4-2 7 June 27 8:00pm @ Chicago 63-68 Harding (15) Melvin (9) Harding (6) UIC Pavilion 3,918 4-3 8 June 30 8:00pm @ San Antonio 84-82 Beard, Harding (19) Currie (8) Harding (5) AT&T Center 4,723 5-3
July Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 9 July 3 7:30pm @ Atlanta 65-72 Beard (16) Melvin (9) Harding (4) Philips Arena 5,456 5-4 10 July 7 8:30pm @ Minnesota 94-96 (OT) Harding (27) Currie (11) Currie (4) Target Center 7,171 5-5 11 July 11 7:00pm Los Angeles 75-63 Beard (26) Langhorne (11) Harding (5) Verizon Center 12,217 6-5 12 July 15 11:30am San Antonio 78-79 Harding (18) Beard, Langhorne (6) Harding (4) Verizon Center 17,220 6-6 13 July 18 7:00pm New York 68-67 Harding (23) Harding (7) Harding (5) Verizon Center 9,968 7-6 14 July 21 7:00pm Indiana 70-82 Harding (17) Beard (9) Harding (6) Verizon Center 9,798 7-7 15 July 23 7:00pm Chicago ESPN2 75-64 Langhorne (16) Langhorne (10) Harding (6) Verizon Center 11,651 8-7 16 July 26 4:00pm Sacramento 87-73 Langhorne (19) Langhorne (8) Beard (5) Verizon Center 10,757 9-7 17 July 28 7:00pm @ Indiana 85-81 Beard (19) Langhorne (8) Harding, Melvin (4) Conseco Fieldhouse 5,904 9-8 18 July 30 7:30pm @ New York NBA TV MSG 78-75 Beard (28) Langhorne (11) Harding (4) Madison Square Garden 10,172 10-8
August Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 19 August 2 4:00pm Indiana 79-87 Beard (23) Currie (7) Currie, Harding (4) Verizon Center 11,595 10-9 20 August 7 7:00pm Detroit 70-66 Beard (15) Langhorne (9) Harding (4) Verizon Center 10,637 11-9 21 August 9 3:00pm @ Connecticut 67-96 Beard (18) Beard, Harding (7) Beard (6) Mohegan Sun Arena 6,528 11-10 22 August 11 7:00pm Detroit 77-81 Beard (17) Sanford (6) Harding (8) Verizon Center 10,398 11-11 23 August 14 7:00pm Connecticut 91-89 (2OT) Beard (26) Langhorne (16) Harding (4) Verizon Center 9,738 12-11 24 August 16 4:00pm New York 59-60 Beard (18) Langhorne (8) Harding (7) Verizon Center 10,580 12-12 25 August 18 10:30pm @ Los Angeles 69-72 Ajavon (20) Harding, Langhorne (6) Ajavon (4) STAPLES Center 9,287 12-13 26 August 21 10:00pm @ Phoenix 91-81 Langhorne (19) Langhorne (12) Harding (6) US Airways Center 9,155 13-13 27 August 22 10:00pm @ Sacramento 60-82 Langhorne (16) Langhorne (10) Harding (3) ARCO Arena 7,067 13-14 28 August 25 10:00pm @ Seattle 68-78 Coleman, Currie (13) Currie (6) Ajavon (3) KeyArena 6,791 13-15 29 August 30 4:00pm Minnesota 81-75 Langhorne (18) Langhorne (10) Hardin (5) Verizon Center 12,241 14-15
September Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 30 September 3 7:00pm Seattle 78-67 Currie (17) Langhorne (11) Harding (5) Verizon Center 10,648 15-15 31 September 4 8:30pm @ Chicago 86-92 Ajavon (32) Langhorne (10) Harding (5) UIC Pavilion 3,241 15-16 32 September 6 4:00pm @ Indiana 61-72 Langhorne (13) Sanford (10) Sanford (3) Conseco Fieldhouse 9,702 15-17 33 September 12 7:00pm Atlanta 82-64 Harding (25) Langhorne (8) Currie (5) Verizon Center 11,987 16-17 34 September 13 4:00pm @ New York MSG 65-86 Currie (17) Ajavon (9) Currie (5) Madison Square Garden 15,667 16-18
All games are viewable on WNBA LiveAccess

Postseason

2009 Game Log: Postseason
Eastern Conference Semifinals Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Series 1 September 17 7:00pm Indiana ESPN2 79-88 Langhorne (18) Langhorne (10) Melvin (4) Comcast Center 6,332 0-1 2 September 19 7:00pm @ Indiana NBA TV 74-81 (OT) Langhorne (15) Currie (14) Harding (5) Conseco Fieldhouse 9,655 0-2

Regular Season Statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game	RPG	Rebounds per game
APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game	BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage	TO	Turnovers per game
PF	Fouls per game		Team leader		League leader

Player statistics

Player	GP	GS	MPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Matee Ajavon	34	4	17.3	1.9	1.1	1.09	0.12	6.0
Alana Beard	31	30	31.8	4.0	2.2	2.32	0.58	15.9
Nikki Blue	16	0	5.7	0.6	0.8	0.44	0.00	1.5
Marissa Coleman	28	0	18.8	2.7	0.8	0.71	0.32	6.1
Monique Currie	34	34	21.4	4.3	1.8	0.85	0.41	8.2
Lindsey Harding	34	34	35.1	4.0	4.5	1.26	0.38	12.8
Tasha Humphrey	9	0	7.4	1.4	0.3	0.10	0.30	2.2
Crystal Langhorne	34	22	29.8	7.9	0.9	1.00	0.38	12.0
Kristen Mann	16	0	5.9	0.9	0.4	0.19	0.00	1.6
Chasity Melvin	34	33	22.2	4.6	1.1	1.00	0.85	5.9
Bernice Mosby	24	0	7.0	1.5	0.1	0.33	0.04	1.9
Josephine Owino	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.00	0.00	0.0
Nakia Sanford	34	13	19.5	4.3	0.6	0.76	0.41	6.3

Team statistics

Team	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TO	PF	PPG
Washington Mystics	.423	.326	.701	35.0	13.3	9.2	3.5	17.8	21.3	76.0
Opponents	.433	.339	.755	32.7	15.4	9.3	4.6	16.9	22.9	77.1

Awards and honors

• Alana Beard was named WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the week of June 22, 2009.
• Alana Beard was named WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the week of July 6, 2009.
• Alana Beard was named to the 2009 WNBA All-Star Team as an Eastern Conference starter.
• Crystal Langhorne was named the Most Improved Player.
• Alana Beard was named to the All-Defensive Second Team.