Brittney Sykes scored 18 points, Shakira Austin had a double-double and the visiting Washington Mystics defeated the Seattle Storm 73-66 on Friday night.
Austin finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds and Elena Delle Donne scored 11, eight of which came in the first quarter, for the Mystics, who never trailed.
Ezi Magbegor scored 24 and Jordan Horston added 10 points and nine rebounds off the bench for the Storm, who played without Jewell Loyd, the NBA’s leading scorer who rested a sore foot.
Horston scored five points, Megbegor added four and Seattle started the third quarter with a 13-4 run to get within 50-45.
Washington followed with a 6-3 run to increase the lead to 56-48 at the end of the third quarter.
Neither team made a field goal during the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, but the Mystics scored the first three points to extend the lead to 11 points.
Sami Whitcomb’s 3-pointer produced the Storm’s first points of the period and trimmed the lead to eight with 6:08 left.
Washington rebuilt the lead to 11, but Magbegor’s three-point play and two free throws by Yvonne Turner pulled Seattle within 66-60 with 2:35 left.
Tianna Hawkins answered with a layup with 1:35 remaining as Washington held on despite scoring just 27 points in the second half, which matched their second-quarter total.
Delle Donne scored the first four points of the game and added another basket as the Mystics took a 12-4 lead.
Magbegor had a basket and two assists as the Storm got within one point before Delle Donne’s basket helped give Washington a 19-16 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Kristi Toliver and Sykes each made a 3-pointer as the Mystics opened an eight-point lead early in the second quarter.
Seattle closed within three points before Washington scored 18 points in the final five minutes to open a 46-32 halftime lead.
–Field Level Media
