# 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.

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

### Free agents
## 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
GameDateTime (ET)OpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
1May 2111:00am@ New York71-77Sanford (17)Sanford (8)Currie (2)Madison Square Garden 15,9580-1
2May 2811:30amNew York74-56Ajavon (17)Coleman, Langhorne (6)Ajavon (3)Verizon Center 9,2871-1 :

### Regular season

2009 Game Log: Regular Season :
June
GameDateTime (ET)OpponentTVScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
1June 64:00pm@ Connecticut82-70Coleman (16)Sanford, Langhorne (7)Harding (7)Mohegan Sun Arena 7,1911-0
2June 74:00pmAtlanta77-71Beard (27)Langhorne (8)Harding (7)Verizon Center 11,7592-0
3June 107:30pm@ Detroit75-69Beard (15)Melvin (9)Harding (5)Palace of Auburn Hills 7,3293-0
4June 197:30pm@ Atlanta81-93Beard (20)Langhorne (10)Currie, Harding (7)Philips Arena 6,0503-1
6June 207:00pmChicago81-72Beard (31)Melvin (9)Beard (5)Verizon Center 11,7454-1
6June 257:00pmPhoenix87-93Beard (21)Langhorne (12)Harding (9)Verizon Center 9,8084-2
7June 278:00pm@ Chicago63-68Harding (15)Melvin (9)Harding (6)UIC Pavilion 3,9184-3
8June 308:00pm@ San Antonio84-82Beard, Harding (19)Currie (8)Harding (5)AT&T Center 4,7235-3 :
July
GameDateTime (ET)OpponentTVScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
9July 37:30pm@ Atlanta65-72Beard (16)Melvin (9)Harding (4)Philips Arena 5,4565-4
10July 78:30pm@ Minnesota94-96 (OT)Harding (27)Currie (11)Currie (4)Target Center 7,1715-5
11July 117:00pmLos Angeles75-63Beard (26)Langhorne (11)Harding (5)Verizon Center 12,2176-5
12July 1511:30amSan Antonio78-79Harding (18)Beard, Langhorne (6)Harding (4)Verizon Center 17,2206-6
13July 187:00pmNew York68-67Harding (23)Harding (7)Harding (5)Verizon Center 9,9687-6
14July 217:00pmIndiana70-82Harding (17)Beard (9)Harding (6)Verizon Center 9,7987-7
15July 237:00pmChicagoESPN275-64Langhorne (16)Langhorne (10)Harding (6)Verizon Center 11,6518-7
16July 264:00pmSacramento87-73Langhorne (19)Langhorne (8)Beard (5)Verizon Center 10,7579-7
17July 287:00pm@ Indiana85-81Beard (19)Langhorne (8)Harding, Melvin (4)Conseco Fieldhouse 5,9049-8
18July 307:30pm@ New YorkNBA TV MSG78-75Beard (28)Langhorne (11)Harding (4)Madison Square Garden 10,17210-8 :
August
GameDateTime (ET)OpponentTVScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
19August 24:00pmIndiana79-87Beard (23)Currie (7)Currie, Harding (4)Verizon Center 11,59510-9
20August 77:00pmDetroit70-66Beard (15)Langhorne (9)Harding (4)Verizon Center 10,63711-9
21August 93:00pm@ Connecticut67-96Beard (18)Beard, Harding (7)Beard (6)Mohegan Sun Arena 6,52811-10
22August 117:00pmDetroit77-81Beard (17)Sanford (6)Harding (8)Verizon Center 10,39811-11
23August 147:00pmConnecticut91-89 (2OT)Beard (26)Langhorne (16)Harding (4)Verizon Center 9,73812-11
24August 164:00pmNew York59-60Beard (18)Langhorne (8)Harding (7)Verizon Center 10,58012-12
25August 1810:30pm@ Los Angeles69-72Ajavon (20)Harding, Langhorne (6)Ajavon (4)STAPLES Center 9,28712-13
26August 2110:00pm@ Phoenix91-81Langhorne (19)Langhorne (12)Harding (6)US Airways Center 9,15513-13
27August 2210:00pm@ Sacramento60-82Langhorne (16)Langhorne (10)Harding (3)ARCO Arena 7,06713-14
28August 2510:00pm@ Seattle68-78Coleman, Currie (13)Currie (6)Ajavon (3)KeyArena 6,79113-15
29August 304:00pmMinnesota81-75Langhorne (18)Langhorne (10)Hardin (5)Verizon Center 12,24114-15 :
September
GameDateTime (ET)OpponentTVScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
30September 37:00pmSeattle78-67Currie (17)Langhorne (11)Harding (5)Verizon Center 10,64815-15
31September 48:30pm@ Chicago86-92Ajavon (32)Langhorne (10)Harding (5)UIC Pavilion 3,24115-16
32September 64:00pm@ Indiana61-72Langhorne (13)Sanford (10)Sanford (3)Conseco Fieldhouse 9,70215-17
33September 127:00pmAtlanta82-64Harding (25)Langhorne (8)Currie (5)Verizon Center 11,98716-17
34September 134:00pm@ New YorkMSG65-86Currie (17)Ajavon (9)Currie (5)Madison Square Garden 15,66716-18 :
All games are viewable on WNBA LiveAccess :

### Postseason

2009 Game Log: Postseason :
Eastern Conference Semifinals
GameDateTime (ET)OpponentTVScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceSeries
1September 177:00pmIndianaESPN279-88Langhorne (18)Langhorne (10)Melvin (4)Comcast Center 6,3320-1
2September 197:00pm@ IndianaNBA TV74-81 (OT)Langhorne (15)Currie (14)Harding (5)Conseco Fieldhouse 9,6550-2 :

## Regular Season Statistics
### 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.