Rookie Sonia Citron scored 21 points and Sug Sutton added 17 as the visiting Washington Mystics extended their winning streak to a season-high three games with a 94-83 victory over the Las Vegas Aces on Thursday.
Lucy Olsen put up 14 points, Shakira Austin added 13 points and 13 rebounds and Kiki Iriafen logged 12 points with nine rebounds as the Mystics (8-8) evened the season series with the Aces at one win each.
Austin sealed the victory on an offensive rebound and layup with 1:31 remaining, putting Washington up by nine.
A’ja Wilson scored 22 points while Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray added 13 points each for the Aces (7-8), who lost on the second night of a back-to-back and dropped to 3-6 since June 7.
After playing seven of their past eight games at home, the Aces now play their next five games on the road and six of seven away from their own building leading into the All-Star break.
In a sharp-shooting first quarter, the Mystics took a 29-25 lead by hitting 57.9 percent from the floor, while the Aces shot 64.7 percent. Washington’s Jade Melbourne departed 1:12 into the contest and did not return after taking an elbow to the mouth from Gray and losing part of a front tooth.
Washington had multiple nine-point leads in the second quarter, including a 53-44 advantage going into halftime.
The Mystics took charge in the third quarter. Washington opened the second half on a 9-0 run for a 62-44 lead and were up by as many as 22 points in the period before taking a 79-61 lead into the final quarter.
Las Vegas opened the fourth quarter on a 9-0 run to pull within single digits at 79-70. The Aces were within 83-76 after a layup from Jewell Loyd, but Olsen, a rookie, made a 3-pointer with 3:25 remaining to push the advantage back to 10 points.
Washington shot 45.7 percent from the floor in the game, while Las Vegas hit 50 percent of its field-goal attempts. The Mystics were 10 of 19 (52.6 percent) from 3-point range, while the Aces were just 6 of 23 (26.1 percent). Citron, Sutton and Olsen each made three 3-pointers.
–Field Level Media
