After a thrilling triple overtime victory in Connecticut last Tuesday, the Mystics notched their first home victory of the 2016 season on Saturday night, beating the Atlanta Dream, 95-65.
The Mystics shot an impressive 52% from the field (35/67), while shooting 50% (8/16) from 3-point range.
“I think we came in really focused today. We’ve been making a point over the last week or so to treat our home games like away games,” guard Tayler Hill recounted.
Five Mystics players hit double digits on the night. The team was lead by Hill with 15 points, who shot 8/10 from the floor, and 2/3 from beyond the arc.
Emma Meesseman followed close behind with 14 points, and Bria Hartley chipped in with 13 points off the bench. Hartley’s 3-pointer with 1:34 left in the first quarter helped build momentum for the rest of the game. Tianna Hawkins and Ivory Latta both had 12 points off the bench. Hawkins shot 7/8 on the night and had six total rebounds.
The Mystics started strong, scoring 26 points in the first quarter while shooting 53% from the field as they opened a 26-14 lead over Atlanta. Hill was critical in the first, hitting two 3-pointers and ending the quarter with nine points.
The Mystics put up another 21 points in the second quarter to extend the lead to 13 at the half. Both Hill and Meesseman reached double figures at the break as the Mystics led the Dream 47-34.
At the end of the third, the Mystics had increased the lead to 23. The quarter featured a second technical on the Dream coach, Michael Cooper, who was ejected from the game. With 17 turnovers, the Dream struggled to put points on the board, while the Mystics kept pushing, shooting 51% from the field.
In the fourth, the Mystics kept the momentum going, adding another 24 points to the board to top the Dream by 30. Jamie Weisner and Ally Malott entered for the Mystics with five minutes left in the game and both scored, making this the first time all season all 12 Mystics would be on the scoring sheet.
The Mystics held the Dream, now 8-4, to 41% shooting from the field and kept their leading scorer, Angel McCoughtry, to just 10 points, while she has averaged over 20 ppg this season.
“I think our defense has to be where our energy comes from. When we do really good on defense, it turns into really good offense, said Hartley after the win.
Coming Up:
With high morale, the Mystics look next to the Indiana Fever. The Mystics continue their five-game homestand this upcoming Wednesday, June 22nd, at 7 p.m.