Friday night saw a slammed WNBA slate headlined by a showdown between the Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky. Ten teams were in action, with the Aces, Liberty, Wings, and Fever all coming out victorious.
Today’s WNBA viewing guide: The Connecticut Sun face the streaking Washington Mystics
It’s a single-game day in the WNBA, but one that could help determine where the Connecticut Sun will fall in the standings.
Photo by Stephen Gosling/NBAE via Getty Images
Noa Dalzell is a senior writer covering the WNBA and all of women’s basketball for Breakaway, SB Nation’s women’s sports vertical, as well as the Celtics for CelticsBlog.
Saturday will only include one WNBA game: an afternoon matchup between the Connecticut Sun and the Washington Mystics. The Sun currently hold a one-game lead for the #2 seed over the Minnesota Lynx, and will look to hold off Minnesota, the hottest team in the WNB since the Olympic break.
The Connecticut Sun (22-8) face the Washington Mystics (9-22) at 3pm ET
The Mystics are surging and have won three straight games for the first time this season. Ariel Atkins is the head of the snake, averaging 15.3 points this season. Brittney Sykes have been effective since her return from injury — she’s averaged 13.1 points per game — and Stefanie Dolson has continued to be impactful amidst her historically effective three-point shooting season. Dolson has shot 47.6% from downtown and averaged 10.3 points per game.
Sykes exploded for 28 points when the Mystics beat the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday, and she followed that by a 20-point outing in a clutch-time win over the Seattle Storm on Monday.
“My teammates have the utmost confidence in me to make the right play, whether it’s to dish it when it needs to be dished, or go score,” Sykes said after that victory.
The Mystics regularly dropped clutch-time games earlier in the season, but pulled out a third consecutive close victory with a 74-70 win over the Sky on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Sun have been consistent defensively this season, but their offense has sputtered at times. Connecticut’s been lead by DeWanna Bonner (16.1 points per game), Marina Mabrey (14.7 points), and DiJonai Carrington (12.8 points). The Sun posted their biggest win of the season when they defeated the Liberty last Friday, but followed that up with a close loss to the Fever. They’ll look to get back on track on Saturday.
The Sun are 3-0 against the Mystics this season, with the most recent victory coming in overtime.
How to watch today’s WNBA game
The Sun-Mystics game will be on both team’s local broadcasts, as well as on WNBA league pass.
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