The Connecticut Sun may have the WNBA’s best record, but they will be looking across the court at the league’s hottest team on Saturday when they travel to the District to face the surging Washington Mystics.
Washington is still No. 2 behind top-ranked Connecticut in the standings. However, the Mystics are a league-best 8-2 over their last 10 and Elena Delle Donne and company are riding a four-game winning streak, all on the road.
Their latest win came in Wednesday’s 81-74 victory over the Chicago Sky, the WNBA’s No. 3.
Washington (8-3) also won at Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Atlanta on the trip.
Connecticut, meanwhile, comes into Saturday’s 2 p.m. contest on the Mystics’ home court after losing two straight. With a win, the Mystics take over the top spot in the league standings with about two-thirds of the season left to play.
The Mystics’ success, as usual, can be traced to Delle Donne, and the superstar has been dominant of late, scoring 22 with seven rebounds Wednesday. She’s totaled 72 points in her last three games and was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week last week.
The 6-foot-5 forward is among the league’s stat leaders, ranking fourth in scoring and fifth in rebounds and is likely headed to the WNBA All-Star Game in Las Vegas on July 27.
But Delle Donne, a WNBA MVP candidate, isn’t the only Mystic having an all-star-caliber season. Guard Ariel Atkins is averaging 12 points per game on 43% shooting.
Forward Emma Meesseman, who is 26 years old, has juggled Mystics games with commitments to the Belgian national team. But when she’s on the court for Washington, she’s averaging 13.3 points on 66% shooting and 4.3 rebounds a game.
The Mystics have played the Sun twice already on the road, losing both for two of their three losses.
• Katelyn Davis can be reached at kdavis@washingtontimes.com.
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