|
|
 |
 |
|
| |
Thursday, May 31 7:00pm ET
Stingy Rockers allow just 34 points | |||||
|
| ||||||
|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Merlakia Jones scored 17 points and Cleveland Rockers beat the Washington Mystics 69-34 Thursday night in the opener for both teams. Washington's point total was a WNBA record. The previous record low of 39 points was scored by the Portland Fire at Houston last June 30. Washington missed its first 11 shots and the Rockers raced to a 16-0 lead. The Mystics scored their first basket 9:14 in when Helen Luz made a running one-hander from 10 feet. "We were really that bad," Mystics coach Tom Maher said. "We were bullied around. We stunk. Probably no player could think they ever experienced as bad an offensive performance." Washington shot 13-for-53 (24.5 percent) from the field, and the Mystics' starters shot a combined 9-for-40, including 3-for-14 by all-star forward Chamique Holdsclaw. Holdsclaw and Tonya Washington each scored eight points to lead the Mystics. "We cannot go around saying we stunk," Holdsclaw said. "But we cannot have too many of these games that bury ourselves. You don't want to be embarrassed like this." Jones and Chasity Melvin, who finished with 14 points, each scored eight first-half points for Cleveland. "Our persistence was good," Cleveland coach Dan Hughes said. "We got a lot of help on double-teams. We did a great job." The Rockers got a scare when Jones drove to the basket and fell on her shoulder 23.6 seconds before halftime. She left the game, but returned to score Cleveland's first points in an 8-0 run at the start the second half. "My whole right arm went numb," Jones said. "I was a little concerned, but everything was fine after a couple of minutes." Washington was scoreless for the first five minutes of the second half and faced a 40-16 deficit. Cleveland played without injured all-star Eva Nemcova and reserves Ann Wauters and Rushia Brown. Wauters and Brown are playing in Europe and are expected to join the Rockers in late June. | ALSO SEE WNBA Scoreboard RECAPS Cleveland 69 Washington 34
| |||||