Elena Delle Donne made her much-anticipated return Thursday but it wasn’t enough as the Washington Mystics, playing in front of a raucous, hockey-fueled Capital One Arena crowd, fell 88-80 to a Minnesota Lynx team desperate for a win.
“Delle Donne isn’t 100 percent, but she gave us what she had,” said Mystics coach Mike Thibault.
The superstar forward finished with only eight points on 4-7 shooting in 26 minutes.
“Doing all right, just wanted to get back in rhythm and help out my team,” she said after missing the last three games to stomach flu.
Despite Delle Donne’s struggles, the Mystics rallied in the fourth quarter after being down as many as eight. They looked poised to take the lead after guard Kristi Toliver’s game tying layup with 3:58 left to go. Then the Lynx showed how dominant they can be defensively and nearly shut down the Mystics for the rest of the game.
Guard Danielle Robinson gave the Lynx a 79-77 lead with 2:44 left in regulation and the defending champions never looked back.
Minnesota forward Rebekkah Brunson, a Georgetown product, hit a key 3-pointer with 1:33 left in the game to give her team an 82-77 lead.
“We were pretty desperate,” said Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve after having lost four games in a row. “We had a level of desperation.”
Brunson, who scored just the three points, grew up in Oxon Hill and recalls seeing one Capitals game in person as a girl. She planned to spend Thursday evening with family in the D.C. area watching the Capitals game on television before the Lynx left town Friday.
“It is crazy,” she said of Capitals fever. “My friend has been sending me video of fans on the street. It is exciting for the city.”
Delle Donne was also ecstatic about the attention that the Capitals brought to the game.
“The atmosphere was amazing and I wish it was like that every night,” Delle Donne said. “It felt like a playoff atmosphere.”
The crowd’s energy helped the Mystics jump out to a 13-4 lead as they knocked down perimeter shots and scored in transition.
Delle Donne was clearly tentative in the early stages of the game and didn’t attempt a single shot until the second quarter.
The Lynx capitalized on Della Donne’s lack of aggression and stormed back to take a 27-25 lead after a dominant first quarter by Lynx guard Maya Moore. The four-time champion scored 11 to give her team the edge heading into the second quarter.
The Lynx led for most of the second quarter thanks to the scoring burst by Lynx center Sylvia Fowles. She had 15 points at the half, finishing with 21. Maya Moore added 19.
Natasha Cloud carried the scoring load for the Mystics with 17 points.
After trailing 48-42 at the half, the Mystics had an all-around third quarter, getting contributions from forwards Ariel Atkins and Monique Currie. Their efforts helped the Mystics retake the lead 69-68 heading into the fourth.
• Donald Huskey can be reached at dhuskey@washingtontimes.com.
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