Mystics vs. Storm final score: Washington brings the rain to Seattle, won 89-71

A little rain has never hurt anybody...well maybe just the Seattle Storm.

The Washington Mystics came through singing in the rain as they defeated the Storm, 89-71 behind a terrific showing of three-point range from beginning to end. The birthday girl herself, Ariel Atkins, had a solid night finishing with 22 points, three rebounds, and two assists. She even added three steals along with an overall stellar shooting performance of 46.6 percent and 50 percent from behind the arc.

Washington came out the gate hot on a 12-2 first quarter start. Atkins contributed 11 points in the first quarter alone and the Mystics shot 5 of 9 from three-point range. The whole starting five just couldn’t miss and the Storm had no idea what to do or how to stop them. Aerial Powers finished the game with nine points, eight rebounds and four assists, but reached a career milestone in the first quarter of 1000 career points with this jumper.

By halftime the Mystics’ offense and defense was hitting on all cylinders and was completely unmatched for Seattle. At the half, Washington was shooting 48.6 percent from the floor and 62.5 percent from three-point, while holding the Storm to 35.3 percent as a team and 14.3 percent from behind the arc. The 2018 Finals MVP, Breanna Stewart, was held to just nine points at the half and Sue Bird to just two points. Also Seattle had 18 turnovers!

Going back to the offense of Washington whose starting core chipped in all around as they had 21 of the team’s 25 assists. Myisha Hines-Allen had 17 points, seven rebounds and dished out five assists. Leilani Mitchell put up 12 points with six dimes, all 12 of her points coming from three-point range. Emma Meesseman had 10 points, as the reserves combined for 19 points.

As for the Storm, their highest scorer was Stewart with 15 points and 10 boards. Washington held Bird to just five points and 2-of-7 shooting.

From the start of the season, many had the Storm as favorites to win the entire season and be champions, while having the Mystics as a six or seven seed but not potentially repeating. Looks like some people are eating their words now as Washington moves on at 3-0 and could remain the only undefeated team if the Chicago Sky lose on Thursday night.

The Mystics next opponent will be the Chicago Sky on Saturday August 1 at 6 p.m. ET. The game will be aired on NBC Sports Washington and NBA TV.