Bria Hartley holds baby shower, due to give birth in January

Mystics guard Bria Hartley missed the post-Olympic break of the 2016 season due to pregnancy. Hartley has been working out hard in the gym, even as she heads into the third trimester and we know she will have a son.

Speaking of which ... when women are close to the end of their pregnancies, they hold baby showers!

Hartley and Shakim Phillips, the father, recently held one with family and friends. Phillips was a wide receiver for UConn’s and Boston College’s football teams and also was a practice squad player for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Here are some pictures, just so you can see the party highlights:

On her Instagram profile, Hartley listed a link to a baby registry which listed a due date of January 21, 2017. So, click on it and buy something!

After all, you never know if this happens:

Now, let’s get to the more pertinent matters as it pertains to the Mystics’ 2017 season real quick:

• The good news - Hartley is in good shape right now. With her son due in mid to late January, that is about four months before the start of the 2017 Mystics regular season. Assuming there are no complications, Hartley should be able to play for most (or maybe all) of next season. As a point of reference, Mystics guard Tayler Hill gave birth on June 18, 2014, and was able to play a couple months after though she wasn’t effective.
• The not so good, but expected news - I wanted Hartley to return to her 2014 form last season, but she was not at that point at all. With hindsight, she played most of last season in the first trimester of her pregnancy so I won’t hold it against her. Nevertheless, it will still take some time for Hartley to get into basketball form, so she may not be at 100 percent to start next season. That said, it isn’t a total surprise.

Next season is still nearly half a year away. But it’s good to see that Hartley is happy this winter, and that she probably won’t miss much of next season.