Story By: Erin Zollars
Photos By: Sol Tucker
Washington, D.C–
For the second straight night and second straight game, the Mystics went right down to the wire with their opponents, this time, they were unable to escape a late drive by the Lynx in a 80-78 loss.
The Mystics trailed by three with 15.2 seconds remaining and had a shot a winning the game when. Natasha Cloud found a wide-open Brittney Sykes for a three-pointer to tie the score at 78 with 7.1 seconds left. Minnesota’s Tiffany Mitchell then missed on a drive but got her own rebound and scored with three seconds left. Ariel Atkins was off the mark on a heave at the buzzer, giving the Lynx (1-6) the win.
“I didn’t think it was just the end of the third,” Mystics Coach Eric Thibault said. “We just had lapses. As I told the team after the game, to be a great team, to be a good team, you can’t do a lot of hard work and get yourself pushing and then turn around and just give it back because of a lack of focus or lack of execution. We’re not a good enough team to just have three or four minutes where we just lose our minds.”
Unlike the victory against Dallas last night, the Mystics had troubles finding ways to get the ball to Elena Delle Donne late in the game and the double team seemed to force the Mystics to make some mistakes in the final minutes.
Former Maryland star and No. 2 draft pick Diamond Miller was in the building with the Lynx but did not play. It was the second consecutive game she has missed with a right ankle sprain; she could be seen moving around in a walking boot and with a crutch.
Several people in attendance at the game including some Terps hoops alumni like Crystal Langhorne had hoped that Miller would take the court.
The Mystics hit the road with a matchup with the Seattle Storm on Friday. They play a second game in Seattle next Sunday before visiting the Indiana Fever on June 13.
