Mystics Floor Leader Ivory Latta Guides The Offense In A 66-63 Win
It wasn't pretty, and it was much harder than it needed to be, but the end result was what the Mystics wanted as they knocked off the San Antonio Stars 66-63 to move to 12-7 on the season. The Mystics came out HOT to begin the game, led by Ivory Latta who went 2 of 2 from three, the Mystics held a 21-17 lead after the one. The Stars, drastically turned things around in the second. An unconscience Kayla McBride shot 5 of 8 from the field, 4 of 4 from three while Jia Perkins torched the nets shooting 6 of 7 from the field in the first half to lead the Stars on a 21-6 run to take a 38-27 halftime lead. The Mystics, uncharacteristically, went 2 for 16 and committed seven turnovers in the second quarter. In the third, the Mystics grinded out a 25-11 run thanks to some timely baskets from Latta, Taylor Hill and Tierra Ruffin Pratt to take a 52-49 lead. Mystics Head Coach Mike Thibault felt the team needed defensive stops to win the game, his assumption was dead on. He would ride a defensive line-up of Hill, Latta, Kia Vaughn, Bria Hartley and Latoya Sanders to hold the Stars to 14 fourth quarter points while Latta clutch free throws with 6 seconds left sealed the win for the Mystics. Latta finished with 23 points, while Taylor Hill and Tierra Ruffin Pratt added 13 points and 10 points respectively while Jia Perkins and Kayla McBride paced the Stars with 23 and 18 points. The Mystics will hit the road to take on the Connecticut Sun Friday at 7pm.
Stars guard Kayla McBride knocking down 4 of 4 from 3-pt range
Mystics guard Taylor Hill was huge off the bench finishing with 13 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals
Stars guard Jia Perkins shot 11 for 20 from the field finishing with 23 points in the loss