The Washington Mystics fell behind to the Las Vegas Aces by as much as nine points in the second half, but outscored the Aces by eight in the final period to head into the All-Star break with a 100-99 win over the defending WNBA champions.
The Mystics kept things close in the first half, overcoming poor shooting with strong work on the offensive boards. They shooting struggles continued in the third quarter, and when the offensive rebounding slowed, the Mystics fell behind.
Midway through the fourth
quarter, it looked like the story of this game would be too much A’ja Wilson (38 points on 16 shots, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks — she’s soooo good) and too much offensive firepower for the Aces.
When Jackie Young hit a fade away mid-ranger with five minutes left to play, Washington trailed by nine and seemed cooked. And then…the Mystics came alive.
Over the final 5:19, they outscored Las Vegas 22-12 with contributions from Sonia Citron, Shakira Austin, Kiki Iriafen, and a massive three from Michaela Onyenwere. That triple cut the Vegas lead to 94-93.
The Mystics got there final points on a well-designed sideline out-of-bounds set piece that got Citron an open layup that she just missed. Austin, who’d made the pass out top followed for her third offensive rebound of the night, scored the putback, and drew a foul on Las Vegas’ Jewell Loyd. Austin hit the free throw for the game-winning point.
For Washington, the standouts were:
- Shakira Austin — 25 points on 18 shots, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and the game-winning offensive rebound and three-point play
- Sonia Citron — 20 points, 8 rebounds
- Kiki Iriafen — 12 points, 10 rebounds (including 4 offensive boards)
- Lauren Betts — 13 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists in 20 minutes off the bench
The Mystics enter the All-Star break with a 14-12 record and a firm hold on the eighth seed in the playoffs. They’re just a half game behind the New York Liberty for seventh, and two games out of fifth. Just saying.
