Story By: Erin Zollars
Photos By: Sol Tucker
Washington, D.C–
Today’s game against the Storm may have been one of the most exciting games of the Mystics season… the problem it didn’t go their way in the end as the Storm escaped with a buzzer beater, 84-82.
The biggest story of this game before it even started was the return of former All-Star Brittany Sykes. The trade that still had some Mystics fans shaking their heads didn’t seem to bother the team as they relied on their superstar Nneka Ogwumike to get it done when it most mattered.
Ogwumike who finished with 30 points, but none bigger than her shot that looked as if it might roll off the rim at the buzzer to close out a victory for the Storm.
Washington answered a pair of Storm scores in the final minute, tying the game with a Kiki Iriafen layup with 36.4 seconds remaining and a Sug Sutton 3-pointer at the 6.7-second mark set up by a defensive miscommunication.
“We’ve been in a lot of these situations as of late and maybe haven’t had a timeout or have had to be on the defensive end of that,” Seattle coach Noelle Quinn said. “To have an opportunity, finally, to have time on the clock and give it to our best player to make a play, it feels great. It feels like the dividends that are paying off with the reps we’ve gotten with a lot of these tight games.
The Mystics wind down their final few games of the season on the road starting next week and they do not return home until they face the Fever in Baltimore on September 7th.
