Mystics Storm Past Sun, 92-80

Connecticut’s Rachel Banham (1) looks for a chance to bust a move
on Washington’s Tayler Hill.

WASHINGTON—Behind a 25-point effort from Elena Delle Donne, the Washington Mystics rallied from an early deficit and blew past the Connecticut Sun, 92-80, before 4,139 fans at Capital One Arena on Tuesday night. The Sun were playing without Alyssa Thomas who injured a shoulder during a meeting between these two teams on June 13 at the Mohegan Sun Arena. That game was also won by the Mystics, 95-91.

The Sun started out strong and led the Mystics 25-15 at the first pole. Connecticut outrebounded Washington 16-8 in the first quarter, matching their season-high for rebounds in a quarter. The Sun also grabbed 16 boards in a quarter vs. the Mystics on June 3.

Washington then turned the page, and outscored Connecticut 28-21 in the second quarter, trailing by just three, 46-43, at intermission.

“They congested, and when you don’t have a defensive three-second call the entire game, and you feel like they got four or five people in the paint most possessions…,” mused Connecticut head coach and general manager Curt Miller after the game. “They did a good job at congestion around the lane as we were dominating inside early and so it got harder as the game went on of those points in the paint.”

The Mystics regained control of the contest with a solid third quarter effort, outscoring the Sun 33-15. Washington connected on 11-of-17 from the field in the third—including 5-of-6 from three-point range—and went 6-for-9 from the free charity stripe.

Four Mystics scored in double-figures. Elena Delle Donne led all scorers with 25, shooting 8-of-13 from the field (3-for-5 from beyond the arc), and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line. Center LaToya Sanders added a career-high 18 points, while guard Kristi Toliver and rookie forward Ariel Atkins added 14 and 13 respectively. Toliver also dished out a game-high eight assists in the Mystics win.

Four Sun players scored in double digits, led by forward Chiney Ogwumike who posted her third double-double of the season (17 points, 11 rebounds). Guard Jasmine Thomas added 13 points, while guard Alex Bentley and forward Morgan Tuck popped in 13 and 11 points respectively off the Connecticut bench.

The Sun finished the game with 41 rebounds—the sixth time Connecticut has hauled down 40 or more boards thus far this season. The game featured five lead changes and five ties with the Sun up by as much as 12 and the Mystics up by as much as 17

“One of the keys to beating them is getting a good possession every time down the floor and I thought, not so much maybe early, but I thought, once we got past the first quarter, we got good offensive possessions the majority of the time,” said Washington coach Mike Thibault. “The one thing we didn’t do as well tonight is we thought we could do a better job at keeping them off the offensive boards. We didn’t do a good job in the first half and for a couple minutes in the third quarter, but then we finished the game decently.”

With the victory, Washington improves to 9-5, while Connecticut falls to 8-6. The Mystics hold a 2-1 edge over the Sun in head-to-head matchups

“Obviously, they were missing AT [Alyssa Thomas], and she’s a huge piece both offensively and defensively,” said Delle Donne, who first came to prominence in this state by first committing to UConn, then abruptly changing her mind, deciding instead to go to college in her native Delaware. Indeed, because of the abrupt turnaround, she was ineligible to compete in basketball in her first year. She did, however, play for the Blue Hens volleyball team as a freshman. “They are such a great team. It was great to kind of come in here at halftime and get it together defensively and be able to execute it out there.”

Miller was quick to point to Alyssa Thomas’s absence as a major reason for the loss—the Sun’s fourth defeat in their last five games.

“We struggled,” he said. “Obviously, she is our best athletic defender. We play through her in transition. Our winning game has to be simulated by the guards all the time, instead of having another pusher, so obviously we are affected by that injury. She is our toughness, she is our best player in a lot of aspects. We have really hurt her, but tonight we hurt ourselves. We really hurt ourselves in the middle quarters.”

How important is Alyssa Thomas to the Sun’s fortunes? Consider this: Going into the game in which she was injured, the Sun had gotten off to a 7-1 start to the season. They are 1-4 since.

The Sun are back in action tonight when they host the Indiana Fever. Tip-off is at 7 at the Mohegan Sun Arena, and the game will be televised on NBA TV and NBC Sports-Boston.

—Staff Reports