Mystics at Sky final score: Washington blows out Chicago in 80-59 win

The Washington Mystics (7-4) won 80-59 against the Chicago Sky (5-7) on Thursday night on the road with a combination of great defense and strong offensive performances, especially among their starters.

Washington began the game with the best of both worlds. They held Chicago to just 9 points in the first quarter on 17.6 percent shooting. The Mystics also shot 50 percent overall that period and scored 25 points.

Earlier this season, the offense was basically Elena Delle Donne and Shakira Austin with little help elsewhere. To be clear, both Delle Donne and Austin had strong offensive performances, scoring 18 and 10 points, respectively. But this time, the entire starting lineup scored in the first quarter and four of five starters scored in double digits. Brittney Sykes, the one starter who did not score double digits (she scored 8) still grabbed 11 rebounds.

In games like this, it’s easy to ease and see the opposition make the game interesting later on. While the Sky were able to narrow the deficit in the second quarter, the Mystics held Chicago to 28.6 percent shooting and forced them to commit 6 turnovers in the third quarter.

For the Sky, Alanna Smith led with 13 points. Kahleah Copper, their top player was held to 7 points on just 2-of-13 shooting.

The Mystics’ next game is on Sunday on the road against the New York Liberty. Tip off is at 1 p.m. ET. See you then.