Story By: Erin Zollars
Photos By: Sol Tucker
Fairfax, VA–
Early on in this game against the Aces, it appeared that the Mystics just didn’t have the right cards to even stay in the game against, but in the second half of the game Washington got all they needed and pulled out that final card at the right time as they knocked off the Las Vegas Aces, 70-68 to improve to 10-10 on the season.
Las Vegas struggled late in the game and the absence of Aja Wilson was strongly missed by Becky Hammon’s squad.
Jewell Loyd sank a contested 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer to give Las Vegas a 40-27 lead after closing on a 7-0 run. This looked to be the end of the night for the Mystics as they just could not find a way to get any closer.. that was until late in the third quarter.
Shakira Austin continued to show that she can make a difference for this team with quite a bit of late game heroics over the past few games, including her offensive rebound and putback with 39.8 seconds remaining giving the Mystics a 69-68 lead.
Austin also made 2 free throws to close out the game and give the Mystics another victory at home before heading on the road to Seattle.
“I am just glad to be in here helping in any way possible,” said Austin after the game. “These last couple games shows what this team can do and I think we are just getting started on the second half of the season right now.”
