Silver Stars hope to start second half of the season with win over Mystics

The San Antonio Silver Stars will try to start off the second half of the 2011 WNBA regular season just like they did the first, when they face the Washington Mystics on July 26. After making franchise history with their strong start in the 2011 WNBA regular season, the Silver Stars lost their fire, losing four of their last six games.

Lack of offensive production has been one of the biggest factors in the Silver Stars' struggles. The Silver Stars have struggled shooting the ball in their last few games, converting on only 38 percent of their field goals. The Silver Stars were particularly bad in their last game against the Seattle Storm on July 21, shooting a season low 27.7 percent from the field.

"This is one of the most physical teams in the league, if not the most physical, and we just didn't handle it very well," Silver Stars team leader Becky Hammon said after their poor performance against the Storm. "It was one of those nights where everything went wrong. They came out with a purpose and really focused and put it on us."

The Silver Stars couldn't have asked for better opponents than the Mystics to help them get back to the winning side of things. The Mystics are currently the worst team in the WNBA's Eastern Conference with their 3-11 record, and have lost six of their last seven games. Defense has been one of the Mystics biggest problems all season long, with their opponents averaging 47.7 percent field goal shooting against them in the 2011 WNBA regular season.

Hopefully, the Silver Stars will be able to capitalize on the Washington Mystics' ineffective defense and get their offense firing on all cylinders once again. When Danielle Adams, Jia Perkins, Becky Hammon, Danielle Robinson, and Sophia Young bring their A-games for the Silver Stars, they are arguably the best team in the WNBA.

David has supported the San Antonio Silver Stars for the past three years. Follow him on twitter @davidkingwriter.

Sources:

Stats LLC, "Silver Stars-Mystics Preview"

Player and game information from ESPN.com