LaToya Sanders Roster Recap

December 10, 2018

STATS

Regular Season

Games	Starts	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	FG%	3PT%	FT%
28	25	10.2	6.4	1.6	1.2	60.7%	0.0%	86.9%

Playoffs

Games	Starts	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	FG%	3PT%	FT%
9	9	7.7	5.8	2.2	1.2	46.6%	0.0%	78.9%

SEASON HIGHS

PTS 29 – at DAL 8/5/2018
REB 13 – at IND 8/15/2018
AST 4- 4x
FGM 10 – at DAL 7/19/2018
STL 4 – vs. LA 8/23/2018
BLK 3 – 2x
MIN 36 – at IND 8/15/2018

OVERVIEW

LaToya Sanders made her return to the Mystics this season after missing all but four games of the 2016 season while playing for Turkey in the Rio Olympics and sitting out the 2017 season while recovering from surgery. Sanders was inactive the first five games of the season due to illness, but made her presence known as soon as she stepped back onto the court. Sanders had the best season of her career, posting career highs in points, assists and rebounds in addition to ranking second in the league in field goal percentage (60.7). Her efficiency on both sides of the ball played a huge role in the Mystics run to the WNBA Finals.

Her standout season continued into playoffs, where she set a new playoff career highs with 14 points and four assists against Los Angeles in the second round of the WNBA Playoffs. Against Atlanta in the WNBA Semifinals, Sanders blocked six shots, setting a new Mystics postseason record and tying the franchise’s all-time record.

NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS

Set single-game career highs in points (29), rebounds (13), field goals made (10), steals (4), blocks (6) and minutes played (36).
Set season-long career highs in starts (25), minutes per game (24.5), field goal percentage (60.7), rebounds per game (6.4), assists per game (1.6), steals per game (1.2) and points per game (10.2).
One of six WNBA players to average over one block and one steal per game.
One of three WNBA players to shoot over 60 percent from the field (min. 10 attempts).
Tied a Mystics all-time record and set a Mystics playoff record with six blocks against Atlanta in Game 3 of the WNBA Semifinals.
Sanders’ 25 starts ranked third on the team.
One of four Mystics to average over 10 points per game.
Led Washington with 2.3 offensive rebounds per game.
Led the Mystics in scoring twice, in rebounding 13 times and in assists twice.
Washington was 16-9 with Sanders in the starting lineup.

KEY PERFORMANCES

July 19 at Dallas – Scored a career-high 25 points 10-13 (.769) from the field and 5-5 (1.000) from the free throw line. Sanders dominated on both ends, adding five rebounds, three steals and two blocks against the Wings.
August 9 at Seattle – Shot a perfect 6-6 (1.000) from the field and 5-5 (1.000) from the free throw line en route to a 17-point, 12-rebound, four-assist performance in a 100-77 win over the Storm.
August 31 vs. Atlanta – Set a Mystics playoff record and tied the Mystics’ all-time record with six blocks against Atlanta in the Game 3 of the WNBA Semifinals. In addition to the rim protection, Sanders scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds.

HIGHLIGHTS

QUOTES

“LaToya makes my life so easy. She does it all. She always has to defend the best big. She’s all over the boards. She’s so efficient on offense where players like us, we get high touches and we get to shoot a lot. LaToya doesn’t get as many touches, but when she does, she knocks them down and she’s super efficient. She’s been so big for us this entire season.” – Elena Delle Donne, 8/23/18

“My coaches have always instilled in me, ‘You beat size and mass with quickness. Maybe I can’t necessarily guard them on the post because they’re five inches taller than me and they also have me by 50 pounds, but I feel like they can’t keep up with me when we’re rolling and I’m picking and popping and shooting jumpshots. So, you know, sometimes you give up some, but I can dish it out just as much as I can take it.” – Sanders

“Her mentality is just so chill. She brings a calm throughout the team, where it’s always like, ‘I got this.’” – Elena Delle Donne

“I don’t know where we would be without her, … LaToya has been terrific.” – Coach Mike Thibault