– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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WASHINGTON — The Washington Mystics’ shooting went cold at the worst possible time against the WNBA’s best team. Fortunately, their defense was on fire at the same time as their offense abandoned them, and it was enough to come away with an impressive victory.
Shakira Austin scored 19 points for the Mystics, who defeated the Minnesota Lynx 68-64 inside CareFirst Arena on Tuesday evening. Rookie Kiki Iriafen recorded her first-career WNBA double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds as Washington ended the game on a 6-0 run to hand the Lynx just their second loss of the season.
Washington made just five of their 20 field-goal attempts in the fourth quarter, but two of those makes came in the final minute that helped seal the win. Austin scored off an offensive rebound and put-back with 32 seconds remaining to tie the game at 62. On the ensuing inbounds, Sug Sutton stole the ball after it went off the hands of Lynx guard Courtney Williams and scored a layup on a fast break to give the Mystics the lead.
Another Mystics rookie, Sonia Citron, scored two of her 11 points on a pair of free throws with 6.4 seconds remaining to ice the game.
Despite the Mystics’ cold shooting, they tightened the screws defensively on Minnesota during the fourth, as the Lynx made just 1 of their nine shots from the floor and turned over the ball six times in that final stanza.
WNBA All-Star and reigning Defensive Player of the Year Napheesa Collier sat out the game due to a lower back injury. Alanna Smith led all scores with 26 points for the Lynx, with Jessica Shepard finishing with 12 points, 15 rebounds and four assists.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Tuesday evening’s game, with photos taken by staff photographer Clifford Ray Williams. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page, Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 26 pictures in total.
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