Georgia Amoore picked a fine time to have a career game Thursday, when her heroics moved the Washington Mystics closer to a top-four playoff seed.
The Mystics will look to continue their momentum as they conclude a back-to-back set with a game against the host Los Angeles Sparks on Friday.
Amoore recorded 16 of her career-high 25 points and three of her career-high six 3-pointers in the fourth quarter of Washington’s 80-73 victory at Phoenix. The win pushed the Mystics (24-15) into sole possession of sixth place.
The Mystics closed on a 27-10 run, helping them overcome a 10-point deficit with eight minutes to play.
“Times like tonight it shows us a journey,” said Amoore, who missed the 2025 season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee after being the sixth pick in the WNBA draft.
“But that’s been us the whole season, right? Like we found a way to get through it. I think that personifies me, but it personifies us as a team. We just always find a way.”
The Mystics have won 16 of their last 22 games and are one-game behind fifth-place Indiana (25-14) and 1 1/2 behind fourth-place Atlanta (25-13) with five games to play.
They have split two games with the Sparks (13-25), who are coming off a 78-71 loss to Atlanta on Monday in which the Dream’s Angel Reese set a WNBA record with 26 rebounds.
That would seem to bode well for the Mystics, who lead the WNBA in rebounding and rebound margin behind inside players Kiki Iriafen and Shakira Austin. Iriafen had her 19th double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds against Phoenix.
“Composure comes from confidence,” Amoore said, “and we’ve bred confidence this season.”
The Sparks have been in a spiral since the second week of July. They have lost 14 of 17 and also lost leading scorer Kelsey Plum, who was sent to Phoenix at the trade deadline.
Nneka Ogwumike, who recently announced that this season will be her last, is averaging 16.8 points and 8.9 rebounds. The 11-time All-Star had a season-high 27 points to go with 16 rebounds against Atlanta.
“I’ve always been the type of player who doesn’t want to be carried off the court,” Ogwumike said.
“What I do have left, I’m pouring into these last few games, and I’m grateful to be doing it in this uniform and also being able to hopefully impact some of my teammates.”
–Field Level Media
