Washington Mystics fire Rollins

Jul 19, 2008 - 5:03 PM WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- The Washington Mystics fired coach Tree Rollins on Saturday, one day after suffering a 37-point home loss to the Detroit Shock.

Friday's 99-62 defeat was Washington's sixth in its last eight games and dropped the Mystics to 8-14 this season - fifth in the Eastern Conference.

Assistant coach Jessie Kenlaw, who also was Washington's director of scouting, replaces Rollins on an interim basis. Crystal Robinson will retain her position as an assistant.

"We appreciate all of Tree's efforts on behalf of the Mystics and wish him well in his future endeavors," Washington general manager Linda Hargrove said. "We feel that Jessie's high energy and discipline approach to the game with inspire our team."

Kenlaw has coached in the WNBA for the past eight years, most recently as an assistant with the Houston Comets. She was the top assistant for the Seattle Storm in 2004, when they won the WNBA championship.

Rollins joined the Mystics as an assistant in 2006 and took over the lead role on June 1, 2007. He posted a .23-28 record in his one-plus seasons.