– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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WASHINGTON — The gang’s all here once again for the Washington Mystics, and they hope that the full complement of players they finally had at their disposal will make up for lost time as the playoffs come ever closer.
Four players scored in double figures for the Mystics, led by Brittney Sykes’ 21, as Washington defeated the Minnesota Lynx 83-72 inside the Entertainment & Sports Arena on Tuesday night. Ariel Atkins had 13 points while Elena Delle Done had 10 as the Mystics had everyone available to them for the first time since June 9.
Despite the lack of depth that they had been dealing with, the Mystics continued to stay afloat in the WNBA standings, as the win moved Washington ahead of the Lynx and Atlanta Dream for fifth place in the WNBA standings.
Washington point guard Natasha Cloud was one of the few players who had an off shooting night for the Mystics, but she contributed nine assists and five rebound to help lead an offensive attack that made 12 of their 25 three-point attempts on the night (48.0 percent).
The Mystics opened up a 10-point lead at the end of the first quarter before the Lynx rallied back, as a 6-0 spurt late in the second pulled the Lynx within one at 36-35 with 2:51 remaining in the half. Delle Donne answered with a jumper to push the lead back to three before the Mystics took a five-point lead at half.
Minnesota cut the lead to one possession, on a three-point play from former University of Maryland star Diamond Miller, on the first possession of the third quarter before the Mystics responded with a decisive 10-0 run. Shakira Austin started the run with a three-point play immediately following Miller’s. Delle Donne’s jumper in the lane capped off the run and gave the Mystics a 52-40 lead with 6:59 remaining in the quarter, and Washington’s lead did not fall below eight points for the rest of the contest.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Tuesday evening’s game, with all photos taken by DC-area photographer Clifford Ray Williams. After clicking on the first photo to enlarge the picture, make sure to press the left and right arrow buttons to scroll through the rest of the pictures. There are 24 pictures in total.
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