Brittney Sykes and Ariel Atkins each scored 18 points as the Washington Mystics got their first win of the season with an 87-68 victory over the Atlanta Dream in College Park, Ga., on Tuesday.
Sykes shot 7-for-12 from the field and 4-for-6 on 3-pointers after missing the previous 10 games with an ankle injury. Atkins was a perfect 3-for-3 from long range and had a team-high five assists.
Julie Vanloo added 11 points off the bench for the Mystics (1-12), who won for the first time since the 2023 regular-season finale — more than nine months ago. Washington avoided matching the franchise-worst 13-game losing streak in 2012.
The Mystics shot 17 of 31 (54.8 percent) from 3-point range, their most triples since hitting 18 on Aug. 18, 2019, against Indiana.
Rhyne Howard led the Dream (5-5) with 16 points, while Aerial Powers scored 13 off the bench. Tina Charles tallied 12 points and nine rebounds for Atlanta, which has dropped three of its last four.
Holding a five-point halftime advantage, Washington saw its lead balloon to 49-38 at the 7:28 mark of the third quarter following consecutive 3-pointers from Stefanie Dolson and Sykes.
Cheyenne Parker-Tyus’ jumper briefly stopped the bleeding for Atlanta, but a pair of Aaliyah Edwards free throws and an Atkins runner gave Washington a 53-40 lead, forcing a Dream timeout with 5:14 left in the third.
Nia Coffey’s free throws got Atlanta’s deficit back down to nine, but Washington answered again as Sykes and Myisha Hines-Allen each scored to increase the lead to 59-46 with 1:49 left in the third.
Hines-Allen’s layup with 29.4 seconds left capped a 26-point Washington third quarter as the Mystics led 64-50 entering the fourth.
Washington’s momentum carried into the final quarter as Sykes buried two 3-pointers in the first minute followed by Vanloo’s layup that gave the Mystics a 72-53 lead with 8:01 left.
Atkins’ pullup jumper with 2:36 remaining put Washington up 82-62, its first 20-point lead of the game.
In the first quarter, Atlanta struck first on Parker-Tyus’ mid-range jumper, but Washington answered with a 13-2 scoring run, punctuated with Dolson’s triple and then two three-pointers from Vanloo.
The Mystics led by as many as 12 in the first quarter and entered the second with a 25-15 advantage.
Washington led 37-25 with 3:34 left in the second quarter after Karlie Samuelson’s jumper. From there, Atlanta finished the half on an 8-1 run, capped with Allisha Gray’s three-point play to cut the Dream’s halftime deficit to 38-33.
Atkins led Washington with nine first-half points while Charles paced Atlanta with 10.
–Field Level Media
