The Mystics ended their Capital One Arena era with a big win over the Sparks, 69-67 on Friday.
Natasha Cloud was nothing short of amazing as she took the game winning shot when EVERYONE ELSE KNEW ELENA DELLE DONNE WOULD TAKE IT INSTEAD!
DAGGER!!!!!!! ️9️⃣ ️9️⃣ ️9️⃣ ️9️⃣ ️9️⃣ ️9️⃣ ️9️⃣ ️9️⃣ ️9️⃣ ️9️⃣ ️9️⃣ ️9️⃣ ️9️⃣ ️9️⃣ ️9️⃣ ️#TogetherDC #SticsSZN pic.twitter.com/1r856AJ4Nv
— Washington Mystics (@WashMystics) August 18, 2018
Simply put, Tasha called GAME!
This was a team effort. No one scored that much today since Elena Delle Donne scored 16, well under her season average.
But whatever. The Mystics have won eight in a row. They are now 22-11 and will at least tie the same mark the 2010 team did!
Takeaways
Things got testy at halftime - Candace Parker bumped into Elena Delle Donne who was on the floor after the halftime buzzer sounded. Tianna Hawkins took exception to it and got in a scuffle. They both ended up with double technical fouls.
Washington stepped up after a poor start - The Mystics fell to an early 20-10 deficit but quickly made it up in the second and then some. Ultimately, it was a 40-all tie at halftime.
This team has resolve - The Mystics allowed the Sparks to race to double digits early in both the first and third quarters. And as heroic as Cloud’s game winner was, she had a bad night shooting the ball, making only one of ten attempts before she called game. But Cloud was resilient and so was the rest of the team.
Despite their troubles scoring the basketball from time to time, the Mystics were able to get back in the game without looking rattled out there. That’s a good sign for a team that is looking to make a Finals run.
Next Game
Washington’s regular season finale is on Sunday against the Lynx. Tip off is at 7 p.m. ET.