Story By: Erin Zollars
Photos By: Sol Tucker
Washington, D.C–
Over the past few weeks, it would appear that the Washington Mystics have been nothing less than playoff ready with their stretch of impressive victories, tonight, another quality 83-73 victory over the Aces shows this team is ready to compete for another championship
Natasha Cloud led the way for the Mystics, scoring 16 points and adding nine assists. Rookie Shakira Austin added 15 points and eight rebounds and continued to show why she is becoming the X factor off the bench that could help this team deep into the playoffs, something that they have lacked the past few seasons.
Ariel Atkins added 13 points for the Mystics (20-12). Elena Delle Donne scored five points on 1-of-7 shooting but grabbed 11 rebounds and had five assists.
Prior to the game tonight, the Aces had won four-straight games and hold one of the best records in the WNBA. With the win, the Mystics swept the Aces for the first time since the franchise relocated to Las Vegas in 2018.
Another big difference is each game Washington forward Elena Delle Donne seems to be getting more comfortable back on the court and she collected a team-high 11 rebounds tonight. This the fourth time this season that she has collected 10+ rebounds, including in three of the last six outings.
“Elena gives a little different effort each night. Tonight it was Tash doing most of the scoring and Elena, was able to grab quite a few of those rebounds that were key during that fourth quarter run,” said Mystics Head Coach Mike Thibault