Kiki Iriafen scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead a dominant Washington Mystics paint performance in a 91-78 Washington win over the Dallas Wings on Sunday at Arlington, Texas.
Dallas had 20 points in the paint, while Washington notched 48 paint points. After an efficient first quarter, Dallas finished the game shooting just 36.5 percent from the field.
The Mystics (14-17) snapped their four-game losing streak, while the Wings (8-24) have now dropped five games in a row.
Star rookie guard Paige Bueckers, who leads Dallas in points (18.6) and assists (5.4) per game, missed the team’s 88-77 home loss to the New York Liberty on Friday with a back injury. She returned with 17 points on 5-for-9 shooting and three assists
Mystics rookie All-Star guard Sonia Citron tallied 18 points, six assists and five rebounds.
Washington starting center Shakira Austin was out with a leg injury. Stefanie Dolson had 14 points and four rebounds in her place.
Jacy Sheldon, whom the Mystics acquired from the Connecticut Sun in return for Aaliyah Edwards, scored eight in her debut with Washington.
Dallas had four starters in double digits, including Bueckers, Arike Ogunbowale (12), Haley Jones (11) and Luisa Geiselsoder (10).
Washington narrowed Dallas’ lead to 28-27 in the second quarter before the Wings scored 13 unanswered points. Bueckers cashed a three-pointer from the wing and drew a foul, converting the four-point play with 2:47 remaining in the first half.
Citron snapped Washington’s scoreless streak with her first point of the game at the free-throw line. Citron holds the Mystics’ highest scoring average now that the team traded Brittney Sykes, but Dallas held her to one point and zero field goals made in the first half.
The Mystics roared back with a 12-2 to start the second half, including Citron’s first made field goal of the game.
A Sheldon free throw at 6:09 gave Washington its first lead since early in the first quarter. The Mystics extended their lead to 63-58 in a dominant third frame in which they outscored Dallas 33-17.
The Wings offense couldn’t heat up in the fourth quarter, and were outscored 28-20.
Washington shot 40 percent from the field in the first quarter, while Dallas drained 60 percent for a 23-18 advantage heading into the second frame.
The Wings rattled off a 9-2 run, capped by an Ogunbowale’s mid-range jumper at the 2:58 mark of the first. The Mystics’ bench scored 14 of its 18 first-frame points.
–Field Level Media
