Mystics vs. Tempo: Kiki Iriafen and Shakira Austin Power Washington to Eighth Straight Home Win

Every rebound at CareFirst Arena on Wednesday night seemed to come with a Washington Mystics jersey attached. Kiki Iriafen and Shakira Austin spent the evening treating the glass like an all-you-can-eat buffet, and a Toronto Tempo team missing three key pieces had no way of pushing back from the table.

Iriafen finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds, Austin added 11 points and 10 boards, and the Mystics won 93-82 for their eighth straight victory at home. Washington won the rebounding battle 43-27 and swept the four-game season series. Toronto, meanwhile, was playing the back end of a back-to-back without Marina Mabrey, Brittney Sykes and Nyara Sabally, its three top scorers, and lost a 12th straight game.

One Run Decides It

For a quarter, the short-handed Tempo played like nobody had told them who was missing. They scored 24 first-quarter points and were tied at 24 in the closing seconds of the period. Washington took a 25-24 lead into the second with a free throw, and that one point turned out to be the start of everything.

The Mystics scored the first 12 points of the second quarter, making it 13 straight overall, while Toronto missed its first five shots. By the 6:12 mark it was 37-24, and the Tempo's night had changed for good. Washington won the second quarter 22-9, and that nine is the number that lost the game for Toronto. The Mystics took a 47-33 lead to the break.

Michaela Onyenwere delivered the next big blow. Her 3s on consecutive possessions capped an 8-0 run midway through the third and made it 60-42, which was as big as the lead got. The Tempo actually won the period 23-22, but they were still staring at a 69-56 deficit going into the fourth.

To Toronto's credit, it kept competing. Down 83-65 with five minutes left, the Tempo scored eight straight points on a Temi Fagbenle 3 and five points from Aneesah Morrow, cutting the gap to 83-73 with 3:35 to go. Iriafen responded with a 12-foot fadeaway off a Sonia Citron feed. Citron then scored the next four Mystics points herself, Onyenwere added a driving layup, and the comeback never got closer than nine.

Iriafen and Austin Do the Heavy Lifting

Iriafen was excellent. She shot 8 of 12 from the field and 5 of 5 from the line, and four of her 13 rebounds came on the offensive glass. The AP counted it as her 15th double-double of the season.

Austin's line was quieter on the scoring side, since she made just 3 of 9 shots, but her impact was loud. She got to the line for 5-of-6 shooting, pulled down 10 rebounds and finished with a game-high plus-21. It was her 16th double-double of the season, per the AP. Four turnovers were the only real blemish.

Onyenwere's 14 points came almost entirely from deep, with four 3s on eight attempts. Citron scored 13 with six assists and five rebounds, going 6 of 7 at the line. Georgia Amoore hit three 3s and finished with nine points, and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton gave Washington nine more off the bench. Lauren Betts added seven points, three assists and two blocks in 22 minutes as a reserve.

Toronto got a strong night from Kiki Rice, who stepped into the scoring void with 19 points on 5-of-9 shooting, 3 of 4 from deep and a perfect 6 of 6 at the line. She was the only Tempo starter on the right side of plus-minus at plus-2. Morrow had 13 points and eight rebounds, Laura Juskaite scored 12 with four assists, and Fagbenle added 10 off the bench. Kia Nurse chipped in nine points and four assists. Isabelle Harrison blocked three shots but had a rough night at the other end, going 1 of 6 from the field and 0 of 4 at the line.

The Turning Point

The 13-0 run that bridged the first and second quarters. Until then, this had the look of one of those sneaky-tough nights when an undermanned team plays free and makes the favorite sweat. Toronto even made more 3s than Washington on the night, 11 to nine. But with its top scorers out, the Tempo had no one to stop the bleeding when the shots stopped falling, and by the time they found their footing, the lead was too big.

Stats That Matter

• 43-27: Washington's rebounding margin, including a 14-7 edge on the offensive boards.
• 24 of 28: The Mystics at the free throw line, compared with 15 of 23 for Toronto.
• 22-9: Washington's second-quarter advantage.
• 16 vs. 8: Washington's turnovers against Toronto's. The Tempo scored 23 points off those Mystics mistakes, which kept this from getting uglier.
• 38-30: The Mystics' edge in paint points.

What It Means

Washington moves to 21-14 and 13-6 at home. Our recount of the schedule backs up the eight straight home wins, and the Mystics have now won two in a row overall after dropping a pair in Las Vegas. The test gets far stiffer right away, with Minnesota coming to town on Friday.

Toronto falls to 10-25 and 4-13 on the road. The losing streak, also confirmed by our recount, has reached 12 for the expansion Tempo, whose last win came July 12 against New York. They get a chance to end it at home against Portland on Friday.

Closing Take

Rebounding margins like this one usually come with a Costco receipt. Forty-three boards to 27 is simply one team shopping in bulk while the other one picks through whatever is left. The Mystics weren't perfect, and 16 turnovers will be a talking point before the Lynx arrive. But a team that wins eight straight in its own building has clearly figured out what it wants to be, and it starts with Iriafen and Austin eating first. Toronto, for its part, keeps showing up and keeps competing. It just needs its stars back, and maybe a few more shopping carts.

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