Washington Just Dropped 90 Points and Nobody in the League Is Ready For What Comes Next

Alright, Seattle, listen up! You gotta hear about what went down in the WNBA because it’s a whole vibe. The Washington Mystics, who’ve been a bit all over the place to start the season, just threw down a MONSTER 90-72 win against the Chicago Sky. That’s huge, man, especially after they’d dropped three of their last four games. Now, their head coach, Sydney Johnson, is talking about real growth, and they’re chasing their first back-to-back wins when they roll into College Park, Georgia to face the Atlanta Dream on Saturday. You gotta wonder if this win is the turning point for them.

Mystics On The Rise: Ball Movement is Key

That 90-point explosion wasn't just some lucky shot. The Mystics have been averaging 21 assists over their last three outings, and Coach Johnson is seeing exactly what we all want from a young squad: they’re sharing the rock. He straight up said this young team is "trending in the right direction in terms of sharing the ball." It’s all about appreciating that you can’t win alone at this level, and they’re really gelling. This is exactly what you want to see early on, that team chemistry building. Now, here’s the kicker: they did that without Sonia Citron, their leading scorer who drops 17.7 points per game. She’s out with a left foot sprain for her second straight game. But guess who stepped up? Shakira Austin is absolutely crushing it, averaging a career-best 17.1 points and 8.6 boards a night. And Kiki Iriafen is right there with her, chipping in 15 points and a beastly 10.5 rebounds per contest. That kind of depth, especially when your top scorer is sidelined, tells you everything you need to know about where this team is heading.

Atlanta’s Rough Patch: Can They Bounce Back?

On the flip side, the Atlanta Dream (who are still sitting pretty atop the Eastern Conference at 6-3, by the way) are coming off a nightmare game themselves. They just had their lowest scoring output of the year, managing only 29 first-half points in an 83-71 road loss to the Indiana Fever on Thursday. Ouch. You know that stings. Second-year coach Karl Smesko knows it, too. He’s pushing his team not to let a poor shooting night mess with the rest of their game. "You can't have letdowns, even for a couple minutes," he said, and you know he’s not wrong. Atlanta’s got some serious firepower though. Allisha Gray is absolutely lights-out, leading the team with 20.2 points per game and ranking third in the entire league. Rhyne Howard adds another 17.9 points, and newcomer Angel Reese? She’s a double-double machine, averaging 12.8 points and leading the league with 11.1 rebounds every single game. This team is built to win, and you know they’ll be hungry to erase that last performance. The Dream even took three out of four in the series last season, so they’ve got that mental edge. So, what’s next? These two squads clash on Saturday. For the Mystics, it’s all about proving that the Chicago win wasn't a fluke and building some serious momentum with those consecutive victories. For the Dream, it's about shutting down that bad shooting night and showing everyone why they’re at the top of the conference. You know it’s gonna be a battle, and we’ll be watching to see who truly steps up!

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.