Washington, DC--

While there were only a handful of fans on hand to see the Washington Mystics prime their way to the 2006 season with strong blow out of the four time WNBA Champions in the Houston Comets.

The Comets who certainly are not the Comets of old did not have the best game from star Sheryl Swoopes who had only 7 points on a 2 for 5 effort from the field. Roneeka Hodges ( 15 points) and Mystie Williams ( 11 points) led the way for the Comets.

DeLisha Milton-Jones compiled 15 points and Chasity Melvin added 11 for the Mystics, who shot 54 percent as team from the floor. Washington opens the season at home against New York on Tuesday, May 23rd.

One of the best highlights of the night came from the bench performance of both Nikki Blue and Coco Miller who gave a breath for the Mystics starters who almost had three players in double figures in scoring.

"We are happy about where this team is going to be during the 2006 season. Nikki (Blue) showed how much she can bring off the bench and look for her to bring a lot of excitement to this team just as she did tonight," said Mystics Head Coach Richie Audubato.