Latta scores 14, Mystics beat Dream 71-56 as WNBA scoring champ McCoughtry struggles
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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.
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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.