The Washington Mystics hope to pick up where they left off as their regular season resumes Tuesday against the visiting Connecticut Sun.
Heading into the All-Star break, the Mystics (14-12) had won two in a row. They currently occupy eighth place and the final playoff spot as the second half of the season begins.
Washington had two players in the All-Star Game, with Kiki Iriafen tallying 10 points and six rebounds for the winning Team Spoon and Sonia Citron notching eight points and two assists for Team Coop. Shakira Austin was also on the winning team in the Shooting Stars Challenge alongside Hall of Famer Elena Delle Donne and top high school recruit GG Banks.
In the Mystics’ last game on Wednesday, they pulled off a 100-99 upset win over the Las Vegas Aces behind 25 points from Austin, 20 points and eight assists from Citron and 12 points and 10 boards from Iriafen. The young core is quickly becoming one of the best trios in the WNBA.
“(Austin) has been on a tear right now,” Mystics guard Georgia Amoore said. “(Citron) is just so crafty and she has a great patience and a burst of speed about what she does. She’s a threat from three levels.”
Citron leads the Mystics in scoring with 17.2 points and 3.7 assists per game. Austin sits at 15.0 points and a team-high 9.5 rebounds per contest, and Iriafen averages 14.8 points and 9.2 rebounds.
The Sun (7-20) have lost two straight games and four of their last six. Connecticut didn’t have any players named to the All-Star Game.
So far this season, the Sun have relied on a strong frontcourt of Brittney Griner and Aneesah Morrow. Griner paces the team at 14.1 points per game while Morrow is nearly averaging a double-double with 10.5 points and 9.3 rebounds.
The veteran presence of Griner has been a beneficial addition to this young Sun team, especially for the post players.
“Me being able to pick her brain about certain things, her giving us little tidbits on things to do in our position on what to improve on, different moves that we can make is so valuable for us,” Sun forward Olivia Nelson-Ododa said. “Having that knowledge, having that expertise right there has been able to help us a lot.”
–Field Level Media
