– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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WASHINGTON — While one former University of Maryland Terrapin forward who transferred out of the school before her WNBA star turn returned to the D.C. area to grab most of the headlines coming into Tuesday’s contest, another former Terrapin who subsequently left College Park before being a professional made sure that the D.C. team came away with the victory.
Shakira Austin made two free throws with 2.8 seconds left to lift the Washington Mystics to an 81-79 win over Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky in a game played at EagleBank Arena on the campus of George Mason University on Tuesday afternoon. Rookie Sonia Citron scored eight of her 13 points in the fourth quarter for Washington, while fellow rookie Kiki Iriafen had 11 points and 10 rebounds for her sixth double-double.
Just over 30 seconds prior to her game-winning free throws, Austin missed a pair of free throws but got a reprieve when Washington secured the offensive rebound. With the extra possession, the Mystics converted as Austin scored on a driving layup to give Washington a 79-77 lead.
Reese was fouled on the other end of the floor and made her two free throws with 14.9 seconds left to tie the score before the Mystics’ game winning points. Austin was fouled on a drive before her winning points, and the Sky’s Rachel Banham missed on a half-court shot at the buzzer.
Reese, a native of nearby Baltimore, led the Sky with 22 points and 15 rebounds as she extended her WNBA record of consecutive games with at least 15 rebounds to six. Elizabeth Williams added 20 points while Banham had 13 and Ariel Atkins, a former member of the Mystics who was on Washington’s 2019 championship team, finished with 11 points.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Tuesday morning’s game, with photos taken by DC area-based 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 19 pictures in total.
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