Recap: Mystics beat Storm, 74-72

Brittney Sykes came up big in this one.

The Washington Mystics are finally back on a winning streak Monday after a hard-fought 74-72 win over the Seattle Storm at Climate Pledge Arena.

From start to finish, Brittney Sykes had her fingerprints all over the result. She scored 10 of the Mystics’ first 16 points as Washington raced to a 16-8 lead early and led 24-19 at the end of the first quarter.

The Mystics were red-hot from downtown in the first half, going 8-of-11 from three-point territory. Three of them came off the fingertips of Julie Vanloo.

The Mystics led by as many as nine points in the second but let their foot off the gas to end the half. The Storm closed the quarter on an 8-0 run in the final two minutes to take a 43-42 lead into the break.

The game stayed close throughout the third, setting up a dandy of a fourth quarter. Shatori Walker-Kimbrough hit three straight buckets to open the Q4, forcing Seattle to call an early timeout.

Ariel Atkins, who was held scoreless for most of the game, hit her first bucket in crunch time. She banked in a layup off a nice cut to give the Mystics a 70-66 lead with 2:25 to play.

The Storm were able to tie the game at 72 in the closing moments. But with the game on the line, Sykes drew a shooting foul on Skyler Diggins-Smith with 1.1 seconds left on the clock. The veteran guard sank both free throws, sealing the victory for the Mystics.

After going off for a season-high 28 points last game, Sykes put up another 20-piece in this one. She finished with 20 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the floor.

Emily Engster and Walker-Kimbraugh combined for 23 points off the bench, while Vanloo added 11 points.

The Mystics got the win despite Atkins being held to two points for the second time this season. Both instances came against the Storm.

Next up for the Mystics is a Wednesday duel against the Chicago Sky for a chance at the team’s first three-game win streak of the season.