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Beard, Mystics cruise past Liberty

Aug 4, 2007 - 5:06 AM WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- All-Star Alana Beard put away her recent struggles.

Beard scored 24 points and grabbed seven rebounds as the Washington Mystics posted an 80-68 victory over the New York Liberty on Friday.

Nakia Sanford scored 16 points and Monique Currie added 12 for Washington (11-15), which trails Chicago (12-16) by percentage points for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Sky suffered a 66-60 loss to the league-leading Detroit Shock on Friday.

The loss dropped New York (11-16) into last place in the conference.

Beard, who had averaged just 14.6 points while shooting only 34 percent over her last five contests, got off to a quick start. A three-time All-Star, she scored eight points in the first quarter when the Mystics outscored the Liberty, 18-9.

After having trailed by as many as 15 points in the second quarter, the Liberty rallied to take their first lead of the game at 37-35 on a 3-pointer by Erin Thorn at the 8:25 mark of the third.

However, Beard made a layup to tie the contest before scoring six more points in the quarter to help Washington take a 55-47 lead into the final period.

Beard - who scored nine points in the third - shot 10-of-18 from the field for Washington, which shot 47 percent (30-of-64) and snapped a two-game losing streak against New York.

Janel McCarville scored 15 points and reserve Tiffany Jackson added 13 for the Liberty, who shot 42 percent (25-of-59) in losing here for the fourth straight time.