Iriafen owns the paint
The Mystics thumped Toronto 93-82 on Wednesday night in Washington. Kiki Iriafen posted 21 points and 13 rebounds. Shakira Austin chipped in a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards. Michaela Onyenwere scored 14 points, while Sonia Citron added 13 points and six assists.
Washington won the rebounding battle 43-27. The Mystics controlled the paint 38-30. They shot 45.5% from the field and knocked down 24 of 28 free throws, good for 85.7%.
It was Washington’s ninth win in their last 11 games. The record moves to 21-14.
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Toronto without its top two scorers
Tempo arrived shorthanded. Marina Mabrey pulled out just before tip-off with a hamstring issue. Brittney Sykes, back the night before after two months out with plantar fasciitis in her left foot, was rested on the second night of a back-to-back. Between them, they average 40.6 points a game.
Toronto hung around for one quarter. Four three-pointers kept the Canadians within 25-24. Then the league’s second-best defense tightened the screws. Just nine points allowed in the second quarter. 47-33 at the break.
Kiki Rice finished as Tempo’s leading scorer with 19 points. Aneesah Morrow added 13 points and eight rebounds, Laura Juskaite scored 12, and Temi Fagbenle chipped in 10 off the bench.
A 12th straight loss
Toronto cut it to 49-40 after a Rice layup off a pass from Julie Allemand with 7:53 left in the third quarter. Washington answered with an 11-2 burst, capped by two Onyenwere triples. 60-42. The margin never dropped below eight again.
Tempo fell to 10-25 and is now on a 12-game losing streak. Toronto shot 43.1% for the night, including 11 makes from 27 attempts beyond the arc. The real issue was elsewhere: not being able to stop Washington near the rim, and a bench that was simply too thin without Mabrey and Sykes.
The Mystics, meanwhile, remain firmly in the playoff hunt.
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