Mystics vs. Liberty: Kiki Iriafen's Late Layup Ends New York's Eight-Game Winning Streak, 86-83

Tied at 83. Twenty-seven seconds left. Sonia Citron threads one to Kiki Iriafen under the rim, the layup drops, and Barclays Center goes very quiet for a crowd of 16,539 whose team had won eight in a row.

Iriafen finished with 20 points in her first game back from an ankle injury, and the Washington Mystics beat the New York Liberty 86-83 on Friday night. That ended two streaks at once: New York's run of eight straight wins, and a 10-game regular-season losing skid against this particular opponent that Washington had been dragging around since the 2023 finale.

Twelve Lead Changes and No Breathing Room

Nobody led by more than eight all night. It was 23-23 after one quarter, and New York nudged ahead in the second on the strength of its second unit, with Satou Sabally and Han Xu scoring eight apiece as the reserves supplied 20 of the Liberty's 43 first-half points. Washington went to the locker room down 43-39 and had no reason to feel bad about it, especially with a shooting line that finished at 48 percent to New York's 44 on four fewer attempts.

The Mystics made their first real move midway through the third, erasing a 52-47 deficit with eight straight points to lead 55-52, and they took a 63-61 edge into the fourth. Then New York answered with an identical 8-0 burst from a 69-69 tie. When Jonquel Jones scored with 4:01 left, the Liberty were up 77-69, and the whole thing started to feel like last Sunday all over again. That game, an 86-64 New York win, was played without Iriafen.

The Ankle Held Up Just Fine

Iriafen had sat out three straight after getting hurt against Indiana on June 8. You would not have known it. She shot 8-of-14, went 4-of-6 at the line, grabbed six rebounds and added a block and a steal in 28 minutes, and the team counts it as her fourth 20-point game of the season. Her work in the final four minutes decided the thing: three consecutive Washington baskets, then the winner. Anyone wondering how much she matters to this roster can compare the last two meetings with New York and draw their own conclusions.

Citron was the other half of it, and her line might be the more impressive one. Sixteen points, eight assists, six rebounds and, per the Mystics, a career-high five steals in 35 minutes. She assisted on two of Iriafen's fourth-quarter baskets and sank a pair of free throws at 1:09 to put Washington back in front. Georgia Amoore had 10 points and a season-high eight assists, Shakira Austin posted 14 and seven rebounds, and Michaela Onyenwere had 11, so all five Washington starters reached double figures for the first time this season. Off the bench, Lauren Betts added eight points and five rebounds, Cotie McMahon had seven in 13 minutes, and the Mystics even won the fast-break numbers, 12-8.

Leonie Fiebich led New York with 19 on 6-of-9 shooting, and Breanna Stewart gave the Liberty 16 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Sabally scored 13 in reserve, and Jonquel Jones grabbed 10 rebounds to go with her 10 points. The trouble was Sabrina Ionescu and Marine Johannes, who shot a combined 5-of-21 from the field and 2-of-13 from 3. On a night decided by one possession, that is the whole margin and then some.

The Final Four Minutes

Trailing 77-69, Washington started with two Austin free throws, and then Iriafen took over, scoring at 3:18, 2:43 and 2:15 while Fiebich managed only a pair from the line in response. Onyenwere tied it at 79 with 1:57 left and then hit two free throws for an 81-79 lead. That was eight straight points, and suddenly the home crowd was the nervous one. Ionescu tied it on a drive, Citron's free throws pushed Washington back ahead, and Sabally answered from the line with 48.6 seconds left to make it 83-83.

After Iriafen's go-ahead layup, New York got the kind of chances that a team on an eight-game heater usually cashes in. Stewart missed a contested layup with 14 seconds left. Iriafen made one of two at the line, which left the door open for a tying 3, and the Liberty got two cracks at it. Ionescu missed. Sabally missed. Ballgame.

Stats That Matter

• 48-36: Washington's edge in the paint, which is how you beat a team that makes six more 3s than you do.
• 4-of-18: The Mystics from 3-point range. New York went 10-of-34 and still lost, because volume is not a plan by itself.
• 22-of-32: Washington at the free-throw line, compared with 15-of-20 for New York.
• 11 turnovers: A season low for the Mystics, per the team, against 14 for the Liberty.
• 9 steals: Washington's total, with Citron responsible for five of them.

What It Means

The Mystics are 7-7, 5-4 on the road, and winners of two straight after handling Connecticut on Wednesday. New York still takes the season series 2-1, but Washington ended it with the win people will remember. A home-and-home with the Lynx starts Sunday in Minnesota, and the Mystics head there with Iriafen back in the lineup.

New York falls to 11-5 and 6-4 at home. Nobody should panic over one loss after eight straight wins, though dropping one at home to a team you beat by 22 five days earlier is going to come up in the film room. The Liberty open a four-game road trip Sunday in Los Angeles, a rematch of the first WNBA game 30 years ago, which makes for a fine occasion to shake this one off.

Finally, February 3

Washington had been stuck in its own Groundhog Day against New York since 2023: same opponent, same result, 10 regular-season times in a row. Phil Connors had to become a better person to escape his loop. The Mystics just needed Kiki Iriafen's ankle to cooperate.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details as reported by the Associated Press and the Washington Mystics.