Mystics vs. Sun: Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen Lead Washington to a Third Straight Win

Connecticut scored 33 points in the first quarter on Tuesday night, its highest-scoring quarter of the season. In the third, it scored 10. If you ever need to explain a 7-21 record to a friend, you could do a lot worse than starting with those two numbers.

The Washington Mystics made the most of that swing, beating the Sun 92-84 at CareFirst Arena behind 22 points from Sonia Citron and 20 points and 10 rebounds from Kiki Iriafen. It was Washington's third straight win, and it left the Mystics at 15-12, a season-high three games above .500.

The Sun Showed Up First

For 10 minutes, Connecticut looked like the better team by a comfortable margin. Aneesah Morrow was scorching, piling up 14 in the opening period as the Sun built a 33-26 lead, as big as any they'd have all night. She and Citron each had 17 by halftime, which is also about when the Mystics started to figure out how this game was supposed to go. Washington won the second 28-21, and it was 54-54 at the break.

The third quarter is where everything changed, and it started with Austin and Iriafen. Shakira Austin opened the half with Washington's first five points, and Iriafen followed with the seven after that. By the time Citron's three dropped with 4:49 left it was 68-60, and the Mystics weren't done. A 10-0 run from 68-62 to 78-62 ended any real doubt, and it was 79-64 going to the fourth. Washington won the frame 25-10, and that was the game.

The lead got as high as 18 before Connecticut cleaned things up cosmetically. The Sun won the fourth 20-13, with Kennedy Burke's 25-footer and Diamond Miller's three at 38.2 seconds making the final margin look a lot friendlier than the game had felt.

Three Starters and a Bench That Went to the Line

Citron was the most efficient player on the floor, shooting 6 of 9 overall, 2 of 2 from three and 8 of 9 at the line. She also had four assists and two blocks, and the team says it was her ninth 20-point game of the season. When a guard gets 22 on nine shots, you can safely assume she has figured out the assignment.

Iriafen's night was the opposite in style and just as useful. She needed 22 shots to get 20 points, but five of her 10 rebounds came on the offensive end, and second chances like that wear on an opponent over 40 minutes. It was her third straight double-double and, per the Mystics, her 13th of the year.

Austin rounded out the trio with 17 points, six rebounds, two steals and a plus-13, and picked up a pair of milestones: 1,500 career points, and seventh place on the franchise's all-time rebounding list. This was the fourth time this season that Citron, Iriafen and Austin all reached 15 points in the same game.

Washington's reserves did their damage in a very specific way. Cotie McMahon scored 11 with 7 of 8 at the line plus two blocks. Lauren Betts had eight points and eight rebounds in 14 minutes, going 6 of 6 from the stripe. Georgia Amoore, a starter, led the team with five assists and a game-best plus-16.

For Connecticut, Morrow finished with 21, which means she managed only four after the break. Olivia Nelson-Ododa gave the Sun 16 points, six rebounds and three blocks. Miller scored 12 on 3-of-4 shooting from three, and Burke and Saniya Rivers had 11 each. Leila Lacan handed out six assists but shot 4 of 13, and Raegan Beers went 0 for 5. The AP notes the Sun are now 1-11 without the injured Brittney Griner, and nights like this one explain why.

Ten Straight in the Third

The Sun weren't out of it even midway through the third. They trailed 68-62 with just under three minutes to go in the quarter. Then Connecticut stopped scoring, and in about 1:48 of game clock a six-point game became a 16-point game. Washington kept crashing, the Sun kept fouling, and the crowd of 4,200 got a pretty clear look at the difference between a team going up the standings and one going the other way.

What the Box Score Knows

• 28 of 33 vs. 11 of 18: Free throws. Washington's 17-make edge at the line wiped out everything Connecticut did from deep.
• 11 of 25 vs. 6 of 12: Threes. The Sun made five more and still lost by eight.
• 41-29: Washington on the glass, including 14 offensive rebounds. The Mystics say this was their 12th game this season with at least 40 boards, a new franchise single-season record.
• 44-32: Washington's edge in the paint.
• 25-10: The third quarter, which was really all you needed to know.

Where This Leaves Them

Washington is 15-12, 7-6 at home, with three straight wins and two wins in three tries against the Sun this season, after an 88-81 win and a 68-57 loss in June. Washington has opened the back half of its schedule in style, and the Mystics get Dallas at home on Friday.

Connecticut falls to 7-21, 3-11 on the road, with a third straight loss, and this was only the fourth stop on a six-game road trip. Chicago is next on Thursday.

A Bad Second Weekend

Hollywood has a name for what happened to the Sun. A movie that opens big and then craters in its second weekend gets written up as a box-office collapse, and going from a 33-point first quarter to a 10-point third is about a 70 percent drop. Connecticut had the hype, had the trailer, even had the big opening number, and then everybody saw the actual movie. Washington, meanwhile, keeps quietly making the kind of thing that holds up on repeat viewings: rebounds, free throws and three starters who all know where the ball is going. Three games above .500 might not sell a lot of popcorn, but it's a season high for a reason.

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