Brittney Sykes scored 18 points and Ariel Atkins also had 18 points and the Washington Mystics won their first game of the season, beating the Atlanta Dream 87-68 on Tuesday night. The biggest key from the game was Washington’s outside shooting. The Mystics shot nearly 55% from three-point range.
Head coach Tanisha Wright admitted to reporters that she did not do a great job of preparing her team.
“They did nothing different than how they normally play, other than make shots tonight,” Wright said. “And it was just a matter of time that they were going to start making shots. They play basketball the right way. They moved the ball, they share the ball, they keep their space in defensively, they talk, they communicate, they cover for each other. That’s a good team. Their record does not indicate who they actually are. And I just didn’t do a great job of preparing this team for what they were going to see today.”
Rhyne Howard scored 16 points, Aerial Powers added 13 and Tina Charles had 12 points and nine rebounds for Atlanta (5-5). Allisha Gray, averaging a team-high 16 points per game, was held to nine points on 3-of-10 shooting.
Wright had a succinct explanation for why Atlanta wasn’t able to get points up against a Mystics team that came into Tuesday’s game allowing opponents to shoot 50% from the field.
“We didn’t do a great job of finding opportunities for other people,” Wright explained. “I think tonight, we were only looking for opportunities for ourselves. And when you play a defense like like Washington, who loads up really, really well, you got to be looking to create for others. And tonight, we didn’t do that. We didn’t look to create for others. We looked to create for ourselves.”
Atlanta’s next home game will be against Courtney Brink, Rickea Jackson and the Los Angeles Sparks. Tip-off is set for 3:00 PM.