Sonia Citron poured in 22 points, Kiki Iriafen bundled 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Washington Mystics used a lopsided third quarter to turn back the visiting Connecticut Sun 92-84 on Tuesday.
In both teams’ first game back from the All-Star break, the Mystics (15-12) won their third in a row while the Sun (7-21) lost their third straight and fifth of seven.
Shakira Austin supplied 17 points and six rebounds to the cause while Cotie McMahon scored 11 in a game Washington largely won at the free-throw line. The Mystics were 28 of 33 at the stripe (84.8%) and the Sun struggled to an 11-of-18 mark (61.1%).
Citron hit 8 of 9 from the line, McMahon was 7 for 8 and Lauren Betts went 6 for 6 on her way to providing eight points and eight boards.
Aneesah Morrow paced the Sun with 21 points and four 3-pointers, Olivia Nelson-Ododa had 16 points and both Kennedy Burke and Saniya Rivers scored 11 off the bench.
Washington broke open a tie game with a 25-10 third quarter.
Austin’s hoop and harm on the first possession of the second half gave a preview of what was to come. Iriafen hit a 3-pointer and a driving layup on consecutive trips to build a 66-60 lead, and after a two-minute-plus rut where neither team scored, the Mystics pushed toward their first double-digit lead.
Austin’s layup made it 72-62 at the 2:32 mark of the quarter, part of a 10-0 run that featured eight Washington free throws. The Sun scored just four points with one made field goal in the last 7:22 of the frame to hand the Mystics the reins.
Washington led 79-64 after three periods and never let its lead dwindle lower than eight the rest of the way.
The Mystics opened the game on a 9-2 run, only for Morrow to carry the Sun back. Morrow’s second triple tied the game at 16, and her third pushed the Sun ahead 21-18 at the 4:20 mark.
Morrow finished the quarter with 14 points, and her Connecticut teammates ended it on a 9-2 run for a 33-26 lead.
The Mystics chipped away at the lead until Michaela Onyenwere tied it at 43 on a putback layup. It was tied twice more before McMahon’s layup with 1:01 to go made it 53-52 Washington.
But with the Sun down two in the final seconds, Rivers nailed a turnaround shot before the buzzer to forge a 54-54 halftime tie.
–Field Level Media
