Ariel Atkins led with 20 points for Washington.
The Washington Mystics lost their season opener to the New York Liberty on Tuesday night, 85-80.
The underdog Mystics stayed in this game early on with opportunistic defense. Mystics forced the Liberty into 9 1st half turnovers (finished with 18 total). Despite the Liberty shooting 47 percent from the field in the 1st half, the turnovers allowed the Mystics to get the necessary stops to stay afloat. After a Shakira Austin 3-pointer at the end of the half, Mystics walked into the locker room with a 43-40 lead.
In the 2nd half, the Mystics came out strong, building a 8-point lead, but the game started to slip away thanks to some costly mistakes. The team did not seem to have too many answers for Betnijah Laney-Hamilton (20 points) or Jonquel Jones (25 points) as both rallied the comeback for the Liberty.
The Mystics ended this game with a number of unforced turnovers in the late stretches that made it difficult to keep up with the Liberty. A tough loss but there were some encouraging signs playing close against one of the best teams in the league from last season.
Observations
- Shakira Austin played effectively after her first regular season game coming off of off-season hip surgery. She was a strong defensive force, and finished tonight with 5 blocks.
- Speaking of defense, Brittany Sykes was everywhere on that end. She finished with just 2 steals, but her activity on that end led to a number of missed shots and turnovers that sparked the Mystics’ defense.
- The Mystics appeared to play at a much faster pace tonight compared to their past few years. They were able to attempt 78 shots on the night. Last year, they averaged about 68 shots per game. It will be interesting to see how this team develops with a new cast of leaders in the fold and a new style of play needed.
- Rookie Aaliyah Edwards came off the bench with a solid game. She finished with 6 points and 2 rebounds in 14 minutes of play.