The Washington Mystics (17-20) as they stepped onto the court in Los Angeles and played against the Sparks (16-21) and the game just starting was one filled with optimism, hope and a chance to control their own destiny.
The ladies as they squared off against the Cali based WNBA team, were looking at a chance to punch their ticket to the 2023 WNBA Playoffs. The Vibes were all positive for the squad, especially with Kristi Toliver on the court.
Then there was heartache for the ladies, as down went Toliver with an injury, and not only that but the overall result of the 72-64 loss to the Sparks.
Toliver, just returning to the squad from the injury reserved list, was bringing up the ball from the floor during the first quarter of play. As Kristi was attempting to bust out her best video game moves, she put her right leg forward and then things took a turn for the worse as her leg buckled awkwardly and she went down in pain.
Kristi is one of the heart and soul players on the squad, always leading the team in huddles and clutch moments on the floor. So, the moment of Toliver going down on the court is one that is going to be tough to recoup from.
Especially for this Mystics squad, as they have seen a ton of their teammates go on and off the court with injuries this season. This 2023 squad has been on one heck of a roller coaster ride and the latest loss to Toliver is going to be one that is tough.
From there the ladies hung tough against the Sparks, but if they do hope to make it to the playoffs are going to have to somehow or the other dig deep into their emotional reserves and fight to gain some wins with the rest of the schedule upcoming.
In the more positive aspect of the game there were a ton of impressive performances for the Mystics in the loss. Leading the way is Stat Sheet filler Brittney Sykes as in her return to Cali, she scored 14 points on 6-14 shooting from the field, while adding three rebounds, two assets, a steal and two blocks.
Mystics fans are encouraged to check out the following video as Head Coach Eric Thibault, Brittney Sykes and Elena Delle Donne share these thoughts after the loss to the Sparks..video is compliments of the Washington Mystics:
For Sykes this is her 18th career game posting 2+ blocks in a game.
Also impressing is Myisha Hines-Allen as she tallied 11 points, seven rebounds, three assists and a steal, in providing some impressive play for the team from the bench.
For Hines-Allen this is her sixth game scoring in double-figures on the year, along with her 24th career game posting at least one steal and a block in the game.
In the milestone moment of the day Elena Delle Donne netted her 2,500-career point as a member of the team with her eight-point performance, in addition she added six rebounds, two steals and three blocks.
Elena became one of five players to surpass the 2,500-point mark with the franchise and is 51 points behind Crystal Langhorne for fourth on the Mystics all-time scoring list.
Li Meng also had herself an impressive showing from the bench, as she scored 11 points, going 4-7 from the field and 3-5 from three on the night. Meng became one of five rookies to have multiple games of 3+ made threes on the season.
The Mystics Road trip continues with a trip to Phoenix on Tuesday September 5 (today) to take on the Mercury at the Footprint Center. All the action is scheduled to take place at 10:00 p.m.
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