Updated

Ivory Latta scored 14 points, and Kia Vaughn and Crystal Langhorne each had 12 to help the Washington Mystics beat the Atlanta Dream 71-56 in the opener of their Eastern Conference semifinals series Thursday night.

Washington, in the playoffs for the first time in three years, snapped an eight-game postseason skid dating back to Sept. 24, 2004.

Atlanta's Angel McCoughtry, the two-time WNBA scoring champion, finished with 20 points despite missing 12 of her first 14 attempts from the field.

Washington, which has won four straight and six of eight, can clinch the best-of-three series with a victory at home on Saturday.

The Dream shot a franchise-worst 26.7 percent and tied for their fewest points. Atlanta has lost five in a row and 17 of 24.