Having two stellar rookies is better than one.
The Washington Mystics — thanks to Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen — pulled out a 91-88 overtime win against top WNBA draft pick Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings on Sunday.
After a quiet first half, Bueckers drained a three-pointer with 11 seconds left to tie the game, sending it to overtime.
But Citron had the last laugh, dropping a three-pointer through the net with 12 seconds remaining in overtime to secure the win for the Mystics.
“I saw that I had a mismatch,” Citron, who scored a team-high 27 points, said. “I just had a feeling I was going to be open, and I was happy I made it.”
After a back-and-forth game, every Mystic shared in the excitement — and the fatigue.
“I did not want double overtime. I didn’t have it in me,” Iriafen said after posting 19 points, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals.
The Mystics opened the game on an 11-1 run, thanks to points from four different scorers. Washington used a foul-filled first quarter to carry a 13-point lead into the second frame.
The officiating was a pain point for both teams throughout the night. The two squads exceeded the foul limit halfway through the first quarter. They carried those issues through the remainder of the game.
Mystics center Stefanie Dolson allowed her frustration to escape in the second. After a pair of iffy second-quarter infractions, the referees heard the complaints and issued a technical foul.
Amidst the penalty party, Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale went on a seven-point run to cut the Mystics’ lead to four.
Ogunbowale finished with a game-high 27 points with three assists.
Dallas’ run only ended on a defensive three-second violation.
An offensive foul on Washington’s Shakira Austin turned the ball over again moments later, stifling any momentum the Mystics were threatening to develop. Washington had lost control of the game.
The Wings went on an 18-1 run during Washington’s sloppy second quarter, flopping a potential blowout into a tight game by the end of the second quarter.
Still upset with the referee’s explanations, Mystics coach Sydney Johnson drew a technical foul before halftime. He cheered the crowd on as they erupted into chants of “Ref, you suck!”
“Not my finest moment. It’s not something that I want to do regularly at all,” Johnson said. “But I just felt like there was an imbalance, and I wanted to let them know I wasn’t pleased with how it looked.”
The Wings had 20 free-throw attempts in the first half. The final line evened out — Washington recorded 27 personal fouls while Dallas had 27.
The back-and-forth first half ended with the Mystics — and a still steaming Johnson — heading to the locker room with a 45-40 deficit.
The players said they had never seen their first-year coach that fired up before.
“Coach is the one that’s calming us down. It just showed how much he cares about us, how passionate he is,” Iriafen said. “He just wants the best for us and truly believes in our team. It was just a motivating factor.”
Another physical — though less lopsided — quarter saw the Wings take a 67-60 lead into the final frame.
Johnson emphasized that his on-court outburst didn’t spark a rally. It was a series of moments where his team could’ve thrown in the towel and chose not to.
“The game setting, all it is, is just a challenge for us to whether we’re going to hold to our values or break,” he said. “What I’m proudest of is: there’s some stressful moments. We held together. Our sisterhood, you can’t take that from us.”
A rally led by Washington rookies Citron and Kiki Iriafen late in the fourth quarter gave the Mystics an 81-79 lead, their first since the second quarter, with two minutes remaining.
A free-throw exchange stretched Washington’s lead to three points with moments left in regulation.
The Wings had the ball with 13 seconds, needing a three-pointer to tie the game.
Bueckers drained it.
She finished with 20 points, seven assists and nine rebounds. She was a matchup nightmare for Citron.
“She can just do it all,” Washington’s rookie guard said. “She’s a three-level scorer. She’s just a very smart, all-around player. It’s hard to stop her.”
But Bueckers left 11 seconds on the clock for Washington. Mystics guard Brittney Sykes missed her potentially game-winning layup, though, sending the game to overtime.
Another back-and-forth exchange saw the game tied again with 12 seconds remaining. Then Austin found Citron for a corner three that fell through the net to give Washington another late lead with time ticking away.
The Wings couldn’t get a clean shot off.
With the win, the Mystics move to 6-8 on the season. They are in the thick of the race for the WNBA’s eighth and final playoff spot. The Wings dropped to 3-12, the worst record in the Western Conference.
The Mystics return to action on Tuesday at home against the 12-1 Minnesota Lynx.
• Liam Griffin can be reached at lgriffin@washingtontimes.com.
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