The shots were just not falling for Washington, especially from 3-point range, in their 90-81 loss to the Dallas Wings on Thursday night.
Both teams started with early momentum, but when the Mystics started to fade, the Wings kept going strong. Dallas had 9 assists on 12 made shots in the first quarter and shot 63 percent from the field while the Mystics shot 36 percent.
LaToya Sanders kept the Mystics in the game with a career-high with 25 points coming on a number of impressive plays:
Just like that LaToya Sanders passed her career high with 19 points on the night! #MysticsWings pic.twitter.com/nB2rZmrQCs
— Washington Mystics (@WashMystics) July 20, 2018
Unfortunately, Sanders couldn’t keep up with Liz Cambage who had another dominant night, finishing with 35 points and 17 rebounds.
Washington was able to get their deficit down to four with two minutes left in the fourth quarter, but the Wings continued to convert on shots in the paint and then the Wings forced Sanders to foul out with 1:32 left in the game, which effectively ended their hopes of winning.
The Mystics dropped to seventh in the WNBA standings as a result of the loss. Washington is now just one game ahead of the Connecticut Sun and one game behind Atlanta and the Los Angeles Sparks.
The Mystics will be back in action on Saturday afternoon as they look to snap their two-game losing streak in New York against the Liberty.
Game Notes
- Head Coach Mike Thibault, in attempts to stop Cambage, alternated between LaToya Sanders and Krystal Thomas. Sanders showed her scoring abilities, while Thomas was used for rebounding and defense. Neither approach worked very well, as both dealt with foul trouble most of the night. Sanders fouled out in less than 22 minutes of action and Thomas picked up five fouls in less than nine minutes.
- Natasha Cloud missed the game with a concussion and her absence had ripple effects on the rest of the starting lineup. Kristi Toliver and Elena Delle Donne struggled to score the whole night, combining for 18 points off 6-26 shooting. Dallas held Delle Donne scoreless in the third quarter, and limited her to just two 3-point attempts.