Page 20 - AT

A20 SPORTS
Thursday 26 sepTember 2019

Mystics a 10-point lead midway

through the second quar-
Continued from Page 17 in the weight room” to deal ter, but the Mystics quickly
with her physical play, led turned things around. To-
“Beating a team like that the Aces with 25 points and liver, Delle Donne, Cloud
to get to the Finals, we 12 rebounds. WNBA Sixth and Meesseman scored
had to earn it,” Washing- Woman of the Year Dear- consecutive buckets to ig-
ton coach Mike Thibault ica Hamby had 18 points nite a 16-4 run that closed
said. “I thought they had and 11 rebounds while the half and gave the Mys-
some great performances Kelsey Plum scored 17. tics a 45-43 lead at the
tonight, and obviously we But it was the absence of break. Washington car-
did, too.” Wilson’s opportunities that ried its momentum into the
Thibault said three keys for hindered the Aces in key second half when Toliver
his team were Meesseman moments, including the opened the quarter with
returning to her role as a fourth quarter, when she Washington Mystics’ Elena Delle Donne shoots against Las a 3-pointer in front of the
reserve, LaToya Sanders didn’t attempt a shot. Vegas Aces’ Dearica Hamby during the second half of Game Aces bench and went on
for “absorbing the beat- Las Vegas erased a seven- 4 of a WNBA playoff basketball series Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019, to score 10 of the Mystics’
ing that she had to take point deficit and closed in Las Vegas. first 15 points in the third.
defending someone like the third quarter on a Associated Press TIP-INS
Liz (Cambage),” and Delle 15-7 run that included five offense goes from there,” Thibault said. “I thought Mystics: It won’t show on
Donne for defense on A’ja points each from Plum and Meesseman said. “That we stayed calm down the the stat sheet, but Aerial
Wilson, who had a career- Hamby and gave the Aces was pretty much the only stretch. We got up seven, Powers gave Washington
low four shot attempts. a 68-67 lead. thing we were saying in the they made a great run, the support it needed, in-
“That’s what makes a League MVP Delle Donne huddles.” came right back at us, cluding a spark just be-
championship team, that’s and Meesseman took over The Mystics held the Aces gave up a lead twice in the fore its second-quarter
the makeup, it’s everybody in the fourth quarter. They to 9 of 20 shooting in the second half and we stuck run. Powers, who finished
doing their part,” Toliver scored 21 of Washington’s fourth quarter. Washing- with it. ... To win these kinds with seven points and five
said. “Everybody knows 26 points in the period to ton shot 10 of 19 from the of games you gotta have rebounds in 16 minutes,
their role. Not everybody seal the win. Hamby had field in the fourth, with Delle guts and you gotta have stood her ground against
can be a chief, we gotta a chance to tie the game Donne and Meesseman emotion, but you’ve also a driving Hamby and took
have Indians, too. And we with 3.4 seconds left but combining to make 9 of 12. gotta have some calmness the charge on the baseline
got a great group of Indians missed a 3-pointer from “When you have to be a when everything is crazy. with 5:40 left, with the Aces
— the best in the league.” the corner. “Our main fo- big-time player in big-time “I thought we showed leading 34-27. The Mystics
Cambage, who suggested cus was just to get defen- games, the more times you some calmness late in the outscored Las Vegas 18-9
the Mystics needed to “get sive stops and we know our do it, the better you get,” game.” Las Vegas built from there.q