The Washington Mystics are closing in on a title — which would be a first for the WNBA franchise. Students in Towson University’s sports journalism class covered the first two finals games, live tweeting and writing game recaps. Relieve the start of the series here:
By Jalon Dixon
What Just Happened: After WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne went out early in the first quarter with back spasms, the Connecticut Sun went on a 19-8 run and never looked back. Jonquel Jones led the way as the Sun evened the series 1–1, beating the Washington Mystics 99-87 Tuesday.
The Game Was Over When: Late in the fourth quarter, with 2:17 left, Jones hit a big 3-pointer to put Connecticut up 94-85, essentially icing the game and clinching victory.
Key Statistic: Jones had 32 points, 18 rebounds and 9 offensive rebounds — the first ever 30-15 recorded in a WNBA finals game.
What’s Next: With the series tied 1–1, the Mystics to hope to get Delle Donne back in time for Game 3 on the road in Connecticut on Sunday. The Mystics look to steal a game on the road and take back control of this series.
Game Recap:
Jaws dropped. Fans looked at each other with concern and confusion. The image of their MVP waiving to the bench, clearly in pain, left the home crowd in a stunned silence. Washington Mystics forward Elena Delle Donne walked into the tunnel.
And with that, the Mystics’ chances of taking a 2-0 series lead in the WNBA Finals took a major blow.
Della Done never returned to the game, and the Connecticut Sun took advantage, winning 99-87 on the road to even up the series 1-1. In the biggest game in franchise history, Washington couldn’t overcome the loss of its best player.
Mystics fans were left wondering if this injury would be the end of the team’s chances to win Washington its first WNBA title in franchise history.
With the departure of Delle Donne with just over six minutes left in the first quarter, the Sun got out to a commanding lead as they went on a 19- 8 run. Mystics point guard Natasha Cloud refused to lose belief in her team, saying that with the loss of its MVP, the team would have to rely on its roster depth.
“Our bench is the best bench in the league, so everybody is going to have to step up,” Cloud said.
Sun center Jonquel Jones tuned out jeers of the home crowd and went to work. Scoring 18 points and tacking on 10 rebounds, Jones led the Sun to a 56–46 lead at halftime.
Hopes of Della Donne’s returned soon dwindled, but the Mystics found a way to rally in the second half behind center Emma Meesseman, who was a force off the bench. Leading the team in scoring (23 points) and rebounding (8), Meesseman helped the Mystics tie the game at 76 with 7:50 left in the fourth quarter — the first tie since 4-4.
But Jones took over down the stretch, finishing with 32 points and 18 rebounds — a WNBA finals record (first ever 30-15 game).
With the series tied 1- 1, both teams look to rest up over the next couple of days as the teams do no play again until Sunday. For the Mystics, this break is perfectly time as Della Donne recoups. For the Sun, Sunday will be a statement game as they look to take control of the series as they head back home to Mohegan Sun Arena for Games 3 and 4.
By Brooks Warren
The Washington Mystics have been an offensive juggernaut all season. They play with Spursian unselfishness and Warriors-like precision. On the biggest stage against the Connecticut Sun in the WNBA Finals, The Mystics continued their season-long offensive showcase Sunday to notch their first finals win in the franchise’s history.
“Being 1-0 in a series is a great thing,” said head coach Mike Thibault. “I suspect both coaches will be meeting with their teams tomorrow and telling them a lot of the same things. You could’ve done this better, you could’ve done that better, take care of the ball don’t turn it over. I thought both teams made some mistakes, (the) first game is kind of feeling it out and deciding how someone is going to play you. I thought we adjusted fairly well to how we were played.”
In the Mystics’ 95-86 win, WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne notched a double-double, scoring a team-high 22 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Ariel Atkins had a resurgent outing with 21 points after struggling to the tune of just 5.3 points per game against the Las Vegas Aces in the previous round of the playoffs. Guards Kristi Toliver, Natasha Cloud and forward Emma Meesseman scored 18, 13 and 11 points respectively.
The Sun also had four double-digit scorers, led by a game-high 26 points from Courtney Williams, 20 points from Alyssa Thomas, 13 points from Shekinna Stricklen, and 12 points from Jonquel Jones.
“Last playoffs I gave everything I had but that was about 70 percent,” Delle Donne said, addressing her health issues during last seasons Finals run, “Just physically I wasn’t there. So to be back and to be feeling good and to have muy body working properly — it feels great.”
The Mystics rhythm and chemistry was evident early in the contest, as they went on a 12-0 run to end the first quarter and took a commanding 30-17 lead. The Sun returned a counter of their own with an 8-0 run and cut the lead to a six-point deficit midway into the second quarter after a running layup from Thomas.
Toliver and Cloud hooked up for a corner 3-pointer to give the Mystics their biggest lead, 47-35. Williams hit back with her own 3-pointer just moments later to cut the lead back to single digits. The Mystics and Sun left the first half shooting a combined 62 percent combined field goal percentage and a 55-46 Mystics lead after Williams dropped a floater to again cut the deficit to single digits.
The Mystics pulled away in the third quarter, taking a 67-50 lead. An 8-2 run, featuring back-to-back 3-balls from Williams and Strickland, cut the Mystics lead to 78-74 early in the final quarter. But that was as close as the Sun got. Delle Donne hit two jumpers and Atkins had a 3-pointer, and then in a subsequent possession grabbed an offensive rebound that turned into a Toliver finger-roll layup, creating an 87-76 Mystics lead.
“ The main point of all of this is to win,” Atkins said, “ I could care less if I score 50 or 0. I’m trying to win a championship.”
The Sun were able to cut the lead to 94-86 after Stricklen fed Williams for a 3-pointer but it was futile at that point with the bucket coming with less than a minute remaining. The next time they meet will be October 1, as the Sun look to even the game up and find a way to neutralize what could possibly be the deepest offense the WNBA has ever seen.
“ Last year is last year, this is a whole new season,” Toliver said. “You know we’re motivated to win now and obviously we’re back to where we wanted to be from last season but we’re just motivated for this year.”