PHOENIX, AZ – Washington's shooting led by Karlie Samuelson, and pressure defense out of the gate led them to a 90-77 road victory against the Phoenix Mercury.

In their final road game out West, the Mystics certainly left Phoenix no room to breathe–leading the entire game after the first possession. The team stayed hot from behind the arc, shooting 57% after the first quarter with the bench also narrowly outscoring Phoenix's starters 13 to 12. Finding the basket on multiple occasions, Washington eventually built a 25-point lead in the third quarter to pick up their fifth win in the last six games. This contest marks the first time for Washington and seventh time in the WNBA this season that a team shot .500+ from the field, .500+ from three and .800+ from the free throw line.

Washington's league-best bench continued to shine, totaling 44 points in last night's contest to lead the league–averaging 26.6 points per game. Hard hat recipient Karlie Samuelson led both teams in scoring, mounting 19 points and going 100% from field goal range (6-6) and 100% from three-point range (5-5). Samuelson later credited her teammates at the postgame press conference for finding her opportunities to let it fly, adding, "It feels good to have a game like this shooting wise. All season I've been searching for this kind of game."

Throughout the night, Washington displayed beautiful sequences on offense, moving the ball so every player on the court got a touch. Making the most of her playing time, Sug Sutton facilitated the floor flawlessly in her first game against her former team. This not coming as a surprise with Mystics head coach Eric Thibault stating, "she's a good playmaker, she's probably one of our best passers already," in the pregame press conference.

Looking at the defense, Stef Dolson successfully held the Mercury's Brittney Griner off the glass, keeping her to just five total rebounds for the night. At one point, the host team went scoreless for two and a half minutes with the Mystics defense applying an elite-level of pressure, caving in on Diana Taurasi. The veteran scored only eight points–shooting 33% from the field and 16% from deep. With various stops, appearing to read Phoenix's every movement on offense, Washington was able to maintain a double digit point differential leading to yet another victory on the road. The teams' excellent defensive abilities showing their time was spent well in the film room preparing for this redemption contest.

WHAT'S NEXT

With back-to-back wins out West, Washington returns home to host the Minnesota Lynx at ESA for Pax's Birthday Bash, presented by Xfinity. The final showdown between these two teams is scheduled for Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.

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