Mystics vs. Tempo: Kiki Iriafen's 25 and 14 Turn an 11-Point Deficit Into a 79-62 Washington Win

Washington shot 17 percent from 3 on Tuesday night. All-Star Sonia Citron scored two points. Two reserves went a combined 0-for-12 from the field. The Mystics trailed by 11 in someone else's building. And they won by 17, because Kiki Iriafen and the rest of the frontcourt treated the paint like a private residence.

Iriafen finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds, Shakira Austin added 17 and 10, and the Mystics beat the short-handed Toronto Tempo 79-62 at Coca-Cola Coliseum, outscoring them 53-30 after halftime in a game that looked like a loss for a good long while.

Nine Down, Then 14 Straight

For 20 minutes, the Tempo looked like the better team even with three players out: Brittney Sykes with a left plantar fascia injury, Kiki Rice with a sprained left ankle and Temi Fagbenle with a concussion. An 8-0 run flipped a 7-4 deficit into a 12-7 lead, and after Washington tied it at 12 with 1:55 left in the first, Toronto scored nine straight across the quarter break to go up 21-12. The lead reached 11 at one point, and the Tempo took a 32-26 edge into the half with Washington managing just 12 and 14 points in the first two quarters.

Toronto scored first after the break to make it 35-26 with 9:16 left in the third. Then it all came apart for Toronto, and fast. The Mystics scored 14 in a row in about three minutes. Iriafen's layup put Washington up 37-35, its first lead since the midway point of the first quarter, and by the 6:12 mark it was 40-35. Washington won the quarter 26-13 and carried a 52-45 lead to the fourth.

The Tempo hung around for a bit. Julie Allemand's 22-foot 3 with 4:48 left made it 65-54, and Nyara Sabally's 28-footer cut it to 68-58 with 2:34 to go. But a Michaela Onyenwere layup and a 23-foot Onyenwere 3 bracketed two Iriafen free throws, and it was 75-58 with 1:12 left. Lauren Betts added a layup with five seconds on the clock, just to make sure the final margin matched the mood.

Two Bigs, One Private Residence

Iriafen shot 9-of-14, went 7-of-8 at the line and pulled down 10 defensive rebounds to go with four on the offensive glass. It was her 10th double-double of the season and her third career game with at least 25 points and 10 rebounds, all three of them this year, according to the team.

Austin was just as rude at the other end, with 17 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks. Per the Mystics, no Washington player had managed a game like it since 2024, with a minimum of 15 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks, and she moved into seventh on the franchise's all-time blocks list while she was at it.

Onyenwere's 15 points included two 3s, and she added five rebounds, four of them offensive. Betts gave Washington six points and six rebounds off the bench on 3-of-4 shooting.

Then there's Citron, who produced the most interesting two-point game you'll ever see. She went 1-of-6, the lowest-scoring game of her two-year career, and still finished plus-19, the best mark on the floor, with four assists and two blocks. Sometimes the numbers say you had a bad night and that your team dominated whenever you played, and both are true.

Toronto got 15 from Allemand, who hit 3-of-6 from deep, and 13 from Sabally. All-Star Marina Mabrey had just eight on 3-of-13 shooting with four turnovers and finished minus-22. Isabelle Harrison also had eight, and she fouled out.

The Paint Was the Whole Game

You can point to the 14-0 run as the turning point, and you should. But that run was built on the same thing that had been true all night: Toronto, without Fagbenle, had no answer for Washington's size.

The Mystics outscored the Tempo 52-24 in the paint. They out-rebounded them 47-26, including 18-5 on the offensive glass, and according to the Associated Press those extra chances produced 20 second-chance points to Toronto's three. That's how you win comfortably while going 4-of-23 from 3 and shooting 40 percent overall. Washington took 75 shots to Toronto's 65, and a lot of them came right at the rim.

Toronto wasn't exactly undone by carelessness, either. The teams were nearly even in turnovers, 11 for Washington and 10 for Toronto. The Tempo shot 27 percent from 3 and 35 percent overall and did not score a single fast-break point, and for a short-handed team, that left no easy points anywhere.

Stats That Matter

• 52-24: Washington's edge in points in the paint.
• 47-26: The rebounding margin, with the Mystics holding an 18-5 advantage on the offensive glass.
• 20-3: Second-chance points, Washington's way.
• 53-30: Second-half scoring, after Toronto led at the break.
• 62: Toronto's lowest total of the season, breaking the 65 it scored against this same Washington team on May 8.

What It Means

Washington improves to 12-10 and 7-5 on the road, with two straight wins and a 3-0 record against Toronto this season after squeakers of 68-65 and 86-85. It has now won both of its trips to Toronto, and the team says this was its fourth double-digit comeback win of the season. Portland visits on Thursday.

Toronto falls to 10-14 and 6-8 at home, and the momentum from Sunday's 93-91 win over New York lasted exactly one game. Atlanta comes to town on Friday.

The Band Played On

Picture a band whose lead singer loses her voice two songs in. Usually that's a refund situation. Washington's rhythm section just turned up and played louder for 20 straight minutes. Two points from an All-Star, 4-of-23 from deep, down 11 on the road, and the Mystics still won by 17. If you're the Tempo, that's the part that should keep you up at night. Washington didn't need its best shooting game, or anything close to it. The paint was plenty.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game notes from the Washington Mystics. Context and second-chance points as reported by the Associated Press.