Minnesota Uses Late 4th Quarter Run, Defeats Washington In Return Game From The Olympic Break (8-15-24)
By: Jaden Golding
Headline Photo Credit: WNBA
Minneapolis, MN- The Washington Mystics fell to the Minnesota Lynx 79-68 at Target Center last night.
Yesterday’s game was part of the first night of WNBA action since July 17th due to the All-Star and Olympic breaks.
Both teams showed rust and sloppy play on the court at times. There were a combined 36 fouls in the game with each team going to the free-throw line shooting 19 free throws.
Washington had three key starters return for this matchup guards Brittney Sykes & Karlie Samuelson and center Shakira Austin. Sykes finished with 11 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Samuelson had a quieter evening scoring 7 points.
Ariel Atkins scored 12 points and Jade Melbourne had 10 points off the bench to go with a plus-10 rating when on the floor.
Austin returned, providing a much-needed energy boost as she was active on both the offensive and defensive sides. However, she had some moments where she was overly aggressive resulting in some bad fouls, and there were possessions when she would try to do a little more than needed to turn over the ball. She still finished with 9 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, and three steals, a good all-around performance.
The first three quarters were back-and-forth with neither team building any real separation from the other.
Entering the fourth quarter, the game was tied up at 58-58. Washington trailed by a couple of possessions early on. Still, it would tie the game up 63-63 after Julie Vanloo dumped it off to a cutting Aaliyah Edwards who finished in the paint between two Minnesota defenders.
Courtney Williams would hit a straightaway three-pointer, followed by back-to-back two-point buckets from Napheesa Collier to give the Lynx a 70-63 lead with 2:50 remaining in the game.
Out of the timeout, Austin made a tough step-through falling layup which was the Mystics final field goal of the game with a little over two-and-a-half minutes.
The Mystics just couldn’t find the bottom of the basket, the ultimate dagger coming off a Kayla McBride steal with 42 seconds left to extend the Lynx lead from five to seven ending it.
Four of the five Lynx starters scored in double figures; Alanna Smith (12), Williams (14), McBride (12), and Collier led with a 17-point, 12-rebound double-double performance.
The Lynx shot 40% from the field and 31% from three. Washington shot 38% from the field and a modest 28% from behind the arc.
Washington competed hard like they have been all season, but the fourth-quarter woes just continue to hurt them from finishing games with the victory. Tonight’s game was one of the few times that the Mystics roster was almost fully healthy minus Didi Richards who was out with a right Achilles injury.
Washington hosts the Minnesota Lynx Saturday at 2pm
