The last time the Washington Mystics faced the Las Vegas Aces, an earthquake on the west coast cut their meeting short. In an unusual set of circumstances, the game was postponed and a date for its official conclusion has yet to be determined. There may not have been a clear winner in that game but there’s no doubt that the Aces defeated the Mystics 81-85 on Saturday night in front of a sellout crowd at the Entertainment and Sports Arena.
Met with another strange occurrence, the game started with a 20-minute delay due to a shot clock malfunction. Both teams took it in stride and decided to showcase their skills in a mini dance-off on the sideline to pass the time. Once the game kicked off, the Mystics wasted no time inching the score up to 10-2 in the opening minutes. Led on offense by Natasha Cloud and Kristi Toliver, the Mystics closed the first quarter with a 28-16 lead.
The second quarter was a different story. Las Vegas significantly cut into the lead with the help of fouls by the Mystics that led to favorable free throw points and a boost from Sydney Colson who scored 12 points off the bench. The Mystics went into halftime with only a one-point lead, 44-43.
After halftime, Las Vegas continued to capitalize on the momentum shift in what was a competitive second half. However, down the stretch, the Mystics couldn’t hold on. A’ja Wilson made the last two buckets for the Aces and Kelsey Plum sealed it with two free throws with seven seconds left.
#Mystics fought hard but fell 81-85. after the game, I asked Natasha Cloud what shifted in the 2nd half after starting strong in the 1st half: “For us, it’s challenging ourselves to be better…coming out the same way in the 3rd quarter as we do in the 1st quarter.” #TogetherDC pic.twitter.com/hIQ03WF0jF
— Carita Parks (@CaritaCParks) July 14, 2019
Natasha Cloud led the Mystics with 18 points, Kristi Toliver added 15 points, and LaToya Sanders had 11 points and 10 rebounds. The Mystics are 0-4 without Elena Delle Donne, who suffered a fractured nose last weekend. Emma Meesseman returned to the lineup after missing nine games playing with the Belgium national team. She started in place of Delle Donne and scored 15 points.
This is the Mystics third straight loss bringing their record to 9-6.
Coach Thibault on the #Mystics loss to the Aces: “If we can get our composure back after this, we’ll be fine.” pic.twitter.com/eZGzfGiWwt
— Carita Parks (@CaritaCParks) July 14, 2019