Rockers fight off Mystics> Blodgett scoreless

WASHINGTON – This time, the Cleveland Rockers built a halftime lead and kept it.

After blowing a 15-point halftime lead last Saturday to Detroit, the league’s other expansion team, the Rockers were a bit anxious Wednesday night when the struggling Mystics began chipping into their 19-point second-half advantage.

“Anytime you have a lead in the second half, it is never safe,” Rockers guard Suzie McConnell-Serio said. “We need to put teams away instead of letting them come back on us.”

Keri Chaconas’ basket with 5:04 remaining trimmed the Rockers’ lead to 74-69, but McConnell-Serio and Isabelle Fijalkowski kept Cleveland ahead with key baskets in the closing minutes.

Fijalkowski led the Rockers, who shot a season-best 58.9 percent, with 19 points and eight rebounds.

The Rockers (5-3), got 15 points each from Eva Nemcova and Merlakia Jones, while Janice Braxton and McConnell-Serio added 13 each.

Former University of Maine star Cindy Blodgett played only five minutes for the Rockers and went scoreless with one rebound and one assist.

Washington (1-8) got the MCI Center crowd of 10,364 involved with a late rally sparked by Chaconas’ five 3-pointers. Nikki McCray had 19 points and Chaconas added 17 for the Mystics.

“The crowd was great. They are ready to love us,” Washington coach Jim Lewis said. “Some of our players need to show a little more of their love of the game perhaps. They love it, but they need to show it.”

Rockers 92, Mystics 80

CLEVELAND (92)

Nemcova 5-8 4-4 15, Braxton 4-6 5-8 13, Fijalkowski 7-11 5-6 19, McConnell-Serio 4-5 3-4 13, Jones 6-9 3-5 15, Johnson 3-7 1-2 9, R.Brown 4-5 0-0 8, Bevilaqua 0-1 0-0 0, Scott 0-1 0-0 0, Edwards 0-2 0-0 0, Blodgett 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 33-56 21-29 92. WASHINGTON (80)

Page 4-11 2-3 10, Moore 3-3 0-0 8, Santos de Olivera 7-12 1-2 15, McCray 6-15 7-7 19, Shuler 2-5 6-6 10, Williams 0-2 0-0 0, Carter 0-0 0-0 0, Burge 0-0 1-2 1, Chaconas 6-12 0-0 17. Totals 28-60 17-20 80. Cleveland 41 51-92 Washington 30 50-80

3-Pt. goals-Cleveland 5-8 (Johnson 2-2, McConnell-Serio 2-3, Nemcova 1-2, Edwards 0-1), Washington 7-14(Chaconas 5-10, Moore 2-2, Shuler 0-1, Williams 0-1). Rebounds-Cleveland 36 (Fijalkowski 8), Washington 30 (Santos de Olivera 9). Assists-Cleveland 23 (McConnell-Serio 6), Washington 15 (Moore, Williams 4).