The Washington Mystics took game 1 of the WNBA Finals against the Connecticut Sun 95-86. The Mystics led by nine at halftime and extended that lead to 17 in the third quarter. Connecticut cut the lead to 4 in the fourth quarter, but Elena Delle Donne hit a jumper to extend the lead to six. After that jumper, the Mystics went on a 9-0 to close out the game. Here are the Washington Mystics key players from the game one win.
Elena Delle Donne
The WNBA MVP played an excellent game, Delle Donne scored 22 points on 8 of 13 shooting from the floor. She also added 10 rebounds and five assists. Delle Donne hit clutch jumpers when Connecticut cut down the Mystics big lead to just 4 points. One of the jumpers started a 9-0 run to put the game away.
Ariel Atkins
Atkins scored 21 points and hit a big three-point shot to push the lead from six to nine late in the fourth quarter. She shot 6-7 from the field, also making three three-point shots. Atkins also added five rebounds. Mystics coach Mike Thibault said, “That looked like the Ariel from last year in the playoffs, and that rebound she got late in the game was huge saver for us. It gave us the last piece of momentum that we needed. “
Kristi Toliver
Toliver who has a championship under her belt with the Los Angeles sparks showed her championship grit. She scored 18 points on 6-13 shooting. Toliver also shot 2 for 5 from three-point land. The former Sparks player dished out five assists and played 34 minutes. Toliver will be a crucial player for the Mystics if they win the WNBA title.
Natasha Cloud
Cloud played an excellent floor game, she dished out seven assists and grabbed five rebounds. Also, Cloud added 13 points on 5 out of 10 shooting and 3 for 6 from three point-land.
Washington Mystics key players in game one win. Game two is Tuesday in Washington. Tune in at 8 PM ET on ESPN.
