The Washington Mystics were hoping to make a statement when they hosted the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday at the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Southeast D.C., but after a valiant hustle, were defeated 89-77. Â
The Mystics have been playing well of late, having won five of their last six games after an 0-12 start. Despite playing the season without key players, Karlie Samuelson, Shakira Austin and Brittney Sykes, the Mystics have developed a personality centered around Ariel Atkins.
Atkins, coming off a 24-point effort in a win over the Indiana Fever, came out smoking. The veteran guard, in her season, led the charge by scoring of her team’s eight points in the first quarter as the home team bolted out to a 31-20 lead over the defending WNBA champions.
The Aces, (16-7) who got off to a 6-6 start, have played well recently as well– winning 10 of their last 11. The veterans showed why they are still a team to beat when they outscored the hosts 20-9 to cut the deficit to 43-40 at the half, courtesy of a late three-pointer by Mystics rookie guard Julie Vanloo.
It was Vanloo’s 46th three-pointer of the season, setting the franchise record for threes in a season and exceeding Atkins’s total from 2018. The rookie added two more three-pointers to finish the game with nine points and seven assists.
While Atkins continued her hot streak, the Aces turned to their superstar, A’Ja Wilson, who led her team to a 64-62 advantage at the end of three. Wilson was virtually unstoppable as she tallied 14 of her points during the stanza. A two-time, consecutive MVP award winner, Wilson finished with 28 points on 12 of 19 from the field and 17 rebounds.
“She made some tough shots, man,” Mystics Coach Eric Thibault said of Wilson. “I thought [with] the adjustments we made specific for her; we did a pretty good job. We were crowding her hard when she put the ball on the floor, so she just started making shots with a hand in her face. Not a lot you can do when she’s doing that.”
When Atkins went to the bench for a rest, the Mystics had no one to make up the slack and it resulted in the Aces victory.
Atkins was brilliant in defeat, pouring in a career-high 36 points on 13 of 25 shooting from the floor and a career best 6 of 9 from beyond the arc.
On another note, three Mystics players were honored in the pregame for making the Olympic teams of their respective countries and will be headed for Paris, where former Mystics head coach Mike Thibault will serve as an assistant for Team USA. Vanloo will be representing Belgium, Aliyah Edwards will play for Canada and Jade Melbourne will represent Australia.
“It was pretty special,” Vanloo, 31, said. “I’ve never experienced so much appreciation from a team for being in the Olympics. … I’ve dreamed always about having a big role in the Olympics and finally being in the WNBA, so all those dreams are coming true for me this summer.”