The Mystics overcame a slow start against a hungry, young Aces team.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On a rainy Tuesday night in Washington, D.C., the Washington Mystics (2-0) defeated the Las Vegas Aces (0-2) 75-70. It was, truly, a tale of two halves.
In the first half, the upstart Aces dominated the Mystics in every category, and led by as many as 16 points before going into the locker room up 8, 31-23. The only Mystics player who could buy a shot in the first half was Elena Delle Donne, who scored 17 of the team’s 23 points and 8 of its 22 boards. Overall, the Mystics were 7-for-35 from the field, and only 2-for-16 from beyond the arc, for a field-goal percentage of only 20 percent. To make matters worse, they had 11 turnovers that led to 12 points by the Aces.
However, in the second half, the Mystics’ bench came alive. Tianna Hawkins took control of the game midway through the third, and ended up with 17 points and seven boards, and rookie Arielle Atkins made sure the Mystics kept their foot on the gas and finished strong, adding 15 points and one momentum-shifting steal.
Guard Natasha Cloud added a clutch three-pointer at the end of the third quarter, and drove to the basket to seal the win late in the game. Those three combined for 39 bench points in the second half.
The Mystics are now 2-0 in the season, and head to Indianapolis next to take on the Fever for the second time in five days. Then, they’re back to D.C. to face the Minnesota Lynx. It’s good that the Mystics are figuring out how to win ugly, but it’s not great that they’re struggling so much against inexperienced teams.
Other takeaways:
- When it comes to rotations, head coach Mike Thibault has some work to do. He ended up going with a small lineup for most of the second half, with Hawkins at the five, and he had rookie Myisha Hines-Allen slotted in at the four sporadically. Center Krystal Thomas and guard Monique Currie both started the game, but spent the entire fourth quarter on the bench.
- It’s easy to take Delle Donne for granted, but the way she carried this team on her back in the first half should always be remembered; I’ve truly never seen one player account for so much of a team’s offense during a half. (And yes, that includes LeBron James.) Delle Donne also hit a clutch jump-shot in traffic with A’ja Wilson hanging all over her in the last minute of the game. She finished with 23 points and 11 boards — just your ho-hum double-double.
- Is it time to worry about Thomas? She was a big reason why the Mystics were able to find success without Emma Meesseman last season, but the 6’5″ center only has a combined five points and seven rebounds in her two starts so far this season. The Mystics are going to need her to step up if they hope to have a chance to contend with the bigger teams in the league; small ball won’t always be the best option.
- Hawkins really and truly might be the most beloved Mystic. She was in D.C. during the offseason, and spent most of it working out at the facility with Tierra Ruffin-Pratt, Cloud, and Delle Donne. She lost a significant amount of weight and really worked hard on her ball handling and three-point shooting; everyone at Mystics training camp said that she was the player on the team to watch this year. In the second half, you could see why. She was 6-for-8 from the field and 3-for-5 from beyond the arc, and also led the team in rebounding that half, with five boards. Her teammates absolutely adore her, and they thrive off of her success — when she starts draining her shots, it electrifies the team in a truly unique way. She could be off the bench and into the starting lineup soon.
- When the Aces get Kelsey Plum and co. back from Europe, they might be better than anyone expected this season. Wilson is, unsurprisingly, the real deal — she was 6-for-16 for 16 points, three assists, and 8 rebounds on the night, and she had the Mystics’ post players frazzled from the get-go. But Nia Coffey and Tamera Young were also mightily impressive — Coffey had 14 points (11 in the second half) and two blocked shots, while Young had 13 points and three steals. Second-round draft pick Jaime Nared from Tennessee led the bench squad with seven points and two steals.
- Goodness gracious, this year’s rookie class is special.