Fresh off a week’s rest for the all-star game, the Washington Mystics improved their home record to 6-3 with an 87-74 win over Seattle in a Wednesday matinee at Verizon Center.
Starting the game on a 9-2 run and not looking back, Washington (10-6) was led by Ivory Latta with 20 points on 7 of 9 shooting from the field. A stellar first half saw the Mystics set season highs for points in a quarter (34) and a half (53), and they led by 16 at the intermission.
Overall, the Mystics shot 47.1 percent from the floor and went 8 of 18 from beyond the arc.
The Storm (5-14) got to within 11 with 6:31 left in the third quarter, but Washington finished the period on a 14-6 run to lead by 19 at the quarter break. A late Seattle hot stretch kept things somewhat interesting, but the Mystics’ strong start held true and the Storm never took the lead at any point in the game.
“I thought for a good portion of both the first and third quarter, we played great offense,” said Mystics head coach Mike Thibault. “Little ugly on offense in the second and fourth, but we’ll take the win. We took care of the ball too. Six turnovers, that’s huge.”
Third-year player Tayler Hill had a career-high 18 points for Washington. “It’s special,” she said on the new mark. “But we still got work to do.”
The third-place Mystics will hit the road for a two-game road trip starting on Friday at San Antonio (8 p.m. Eastern) before playing second-place Chicago on Sunday at 6 p.m.
About Eric Hobeck