Shakira Austin’s putback and Sug Sutton’s strip-and-score led the host Washington Mystics to a last-minute 68-64 victory over the WNBA-leading Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday.
The Lynx had to battle without league-leading scorer Napheesa Collier, but held a 64-62 lead with a minute to play.
Austin followed a teammate’s missed 3-pointer with a putback to tie the game with 32 seconds left, and Sutton picked Courtney Williams’ pocket and scored a breakaway layup with 27.2 seconds remaining to claim the lead. A pair of free throws by Sonia Citron clinched the win.
Austin tallied 19 points and seven rebounds to pace the Mystics (7-8). Sutton dropped in 12 points and rookie Kiki Iriafen added 11 points and 11 boards for the Mystics.
The Mystics connected on just 37 percent of their shots (27 for 73) but ruled the final minute for the victory.
Minnesota (12-2) stumbled as Collier missed her second consecutive game after suffering a back injury a week ago in a win over Las Vegas.
Without Collier, Minnesota leaned heavily on center Alanna Smith. The seventh-year pro dropped in a career-high 26 points, shooting 9 for 17 and adding six blocked shots. Jessica Shepard, who replaced Collier in the starting lineup, tallied 12 points and 15 rebounds.
Washington was tested early as the Lynx jumped to a 20-6 lead on a three-point play from Kayla McBride with 3:22 left in the opening quarter. But the Mystics reeled off a 14-2 run to pull within 22-20 at the end of the quarter.
The Mystics took a seven-point lead early in the second quarter and a 39-37 advantage into halftime. They pushed ahead 49-42 on Sutton’s 3-pointer four minutes into the third quarter.
Minnesota answered with a 13-5 run, taking the lead when Shepard’s lay-in just beat the third-quarter buzzer, setting up a back-and-forth final stanza.
The Lynx’s 64 points was a season-low. Minnesota tallied 19 turnovers, with Williams committing 10.
–Field Level Media
