Following a 94-84 victory on Tuesday, the Washington Mystics returned to the Mortgage Matchup Center for the second time in three nights for another tilt with the Phoenix Mercury.
Behind a career-high 25 points and six 3-pointers from Georgia Amoore, Washington earned an 80-73 road win.
The Mercury jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead before Shakira Austin got Washington on the board with two free throws. Phoenix’s advantage reached 13 points before Amoore drilled a pair of triples to settle her squad down.
After trailing 15-2, the Mystics answered with an 18-3 run to take a 20-18 advantage into the second quarter.
Kahleah Copper scored 20 of the Mercury’s first 25 points as they kept pace with the young Mystics. But a pair of Lauren Betts buckets gave her six quick points off the bench and maintained Washington’s narrow advantage at the midway point of the second frame.
Behind a trio of Kiki Iriafen buckets and a pair of Betnijah Laney-Hamilton assists, Washington embarked on a 10-0 run to open a 38-27 lead. But Phoenix held firm, trimming its deficit to just three entering halftime.
Iriafen scored six of her 20 points in the quarter. But Copper’s dominance persisted as she reached 32 points on 13-for-18 FG to give her squad a 57-53 lead entering the final quarter.
Shay Ciezki drilled a 3-pointer and a five-foot jumper to push Phoenix ahead by nine to open the fourth. Then again, with the Mystics on the ropes, Amoore stepped up.
The second-year guard settled things down with an and-1 layup to trim the deficit to seven before she plucked the ball loose and tossed a dime to Austin for an easy layup. After a Sonia Citron steal, Amoore sunk her fourth triple of the contest to give her a career-high 15 points and make it a two-point game.
But she wasn’t done there. Amoore slithered into the lane for an easy layup to put Washington ahead 67-65. After another Copper miss, Iriafen ran the floor and added three more to make it 70-65 with four minutes remaining.
In just three minutes, the Mystics had turned a 10-point deficit into a five-point advantage and quited a once-lively Mortgage Matchup Center in the process.
Phoenix scored twice in a minute to bring the fans to their feet. But Amoore had every answer.
The 5-foot-6 guard dribbled through the defense for a layup. Then she sank a cold-bloooded corner three to put Washington ahead by four. And then she added another, this one a wing triple off a Citron feed that brought the Mystics’ bench to their feet as the lead grew to 78-73.
Laney-Hamilton iced the game at the line as Washington secured a hard-fought road win.
