Rookies Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen combined for 50 points Tuesday night in a 103-86 home win for the Washington Mystics over the Chicago Sky.
Both players scored career bests, as Citron tallied 28 points and Iriafen notched 22.
They became the first pair of rookies to score at least 20 points in the same game in Washington (13-13) franchise history.
Veteran Brittney Sykes added 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting, surging back after an 0-of-6 performance and zero points in Washington’s loss to the Phoenix Mercury on Sunday.
A third-quarter surge for the Mystics was too much for the Sky (7-19) to handle. The Sky dropped their sixth game in a row.
Led by 10 points in the quarter by Sykes, the Washington defense stifled Chicago shooting and a 12-point run pushed the Mystics’ lead to 17 points. During that surge, the Sky’s Angel Reese picked up her fifth foul after an incidental hit to the face of Emily Engstler that Reese demanded be reviewed, and the subsequent second look by the referees failed to overturn the call.
Chicago scored the final eight points of the quarter to make it an 11-point game, but could not hold on in the fourth quarter as the home side outscored the Sky 23-17 to round out the victory.
Washington veteran Sug Sutton left the game with an injury with 4:09 remaining in the fourth quarter when the guard’s leg collided with the leg of Reese as Chicago ran back on defense. After a lengthy injury timeout, Sutton left the game putting pressure on her leg as the training staff helped her get back to the locker room.
Chicago’s duo of second-year stars led their effort. Reese, who returned after missing the last four games with a back injury, posted her 11th double-double in a row with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Kamilla Cardoso scored 21 points and added 10 rebounds.
Dating back to last season, the win for the Mystics was their fifth in a row over the Sky. The two teams will meet one more time this season on Aug. 5 in Chicago.
–Field Level Media
