Washington Mystics stun Los Angeles Sparks 89-85 in O.T; Snap five-game losing streak – WNBA Recap
On Sunday night, Washington Mystics stormed back from a 22-point deficit in the second half to stun the Los Angeles Sparks 89-85 in overtime at the Staples Center. With the win, the Mystic finally managed to stall their five game
tail spin.
Matee Ajavon was in her zone on the night and erupted with a game-high 29 points, two rebounds and two steals. She shot 10 for 18 from the field and 7 for 8 from the free throw line. Crystal Langhorne recorded a double-double with
24 points and a game high 14 rebounds. The 24-year-old also dished out five assists. Langhorne went 9 for 14 from the floor and slipped 6 of 7 free throws on the night.
Marissa Coleman also had 10 points and nine rebounds for the Mystics, who have lost eight of their previous ten games.
Kristi Toliver led the Sparks with 21 points, including three treys, seven assists and two rebounds. Jantel Lavender came off the bench with 13 points while Tina Thompson finished with 11 points for the Sparks, who have lost three
of their last five games.
Washington crushed the Sparks on fast break points and scored 15 as compared to just six by the hosts. The Mystics shot 50.7 percent from the field for the game and limited Los Angeles to 43.3 percent.
Sparks were the better team in the first two quarters of the game and held a 22-point lead, 47-25, at halftime. Mystics however turned the tables on them in the second half. They started the rot in the third period and outscored
Los Angeles 20-12, cutting the first half deficit to 14 points, 59-45, heading into the final frame.
Washington then opened the fourth quarter on an 11-2 run to make it a five-point contest, 61-56. In the minutes that followed, Los Angeles struck back. Pringle hit a pair of free throw with 05:03 to go in the last quarter and stretched
Los Angeles’ lead to 10 points, 68-58.
However, in the last 4:39 of the regulation time, Mystics pounded 17 points and tied the game at 77-77, sending it into overtime.
Mystics scored five unanswered points right at the start of O.T. and went ahead by 82-77. Toliver’s layup with 43 seconds to go trimmed the deficit to three, 84-81; however, Washington scored the next three points and never trailed
for the rest of the period.
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