The injury-riddled Mystics got right against Brittney Griner and the Mercury
Despite missing three starters, the Mystics scored a much-needed victory over the Phoenix Mercury on Sunday. Washington cruised past the Mercury by a final score of 84-69 on national TV.
Brittney Sykes continued her tremendous scoring pace with 23 points. This was her fourth 20-plus point outing in 2023, which matches her career-high in the category from last season. Natasha Cloud matched Sykes with 23 points of her own to go along with 9 assists. Shatori Walker-Kimbrough also had a big game with 13 points on 5 of 10 shooting as DC showcased their backcourt talent.
The Mystics also played one of their best defensive games since getting hit by the injury bug. They held Phoenix to their third-worst scoring output of 2023 as Diana Taurasi sat out with a thigh injury. Tianna Hawkins and Myisha Hines-Allen deserve a special shoutout for the job they did on Brittney Griner in the post. In her first action in DC since May 2021, BG had to fight for every touch and was held to 12 points. Washington’s bigs did a great job fronting her as well as bringing double teams to prevent Griner from turning into jump hooks.
The Mystics improve to 12-10 on the season as Phoenix fell to 6-16. The win pulls them into a tie with the Atlanta Dream for 5th place in the WNBA. Head coach Eric Thibault seemed optimistic that positive injury news would be coming soon with Elena Delle Donne possibly coming off the shelf this week. Next up for Washington is a road trip to Minnesota for a Wednesday night game against the fourth-place Lynx.