Mercury hang on, hand Mystics third straight loss

Monique Akoa Makani canned a 3-pointer with 1:11 left Sunday to give the Phoenix Mercury the lead for good in a 68-62 win over the visiting Washington Mystics.

Washington (2-3), which finished a three-game Western road trip winless, led 62-61 on two foul shots by Brittney Sykes with 1:23 remaining. But Satou Sabally fed Akoa Makani on the next possession for the go-ahead bucket.

The Mystics misfired on their final four possessions and Phoenix (3-1) sealed the outcome when Akoa Makani and Alyssa Thomas each converted two foul shots in the final 14.4 seconds.

Akoa Makani scored 13 points for Phoenix, while Sabally added 12 and Thomas finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists. The Mercury won despite canning only 21 of 63 shots from the field and getting hammered 41-26 in rebounding.

Rookie Sonia Citron scored a game-high 14 points for Washington, while another rookie, Kiki Iriafen, finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Sykes added 10 points but made only 1 of 13 attempts from the field.

The Mystics hit only 19 of 54 field goals and coughed up 30 turnovers, seven by Iriafen.

Washington got some good news prior to the game when Sykes returned to the lineup after missing Friday night's 75-72 loss at Las Vegas with an ankle injury. But Sykes' presence didn't do much to help the team during a dreadful first half.

The Mystics did own a 15-13 lead after a quarter, but that was more a function of Phoenix not being able to hit shots. Washington committed a whopping nine turnovers but was at least able to earn a 10-4 advantage in points in the paint.

The Mercury were able to do more offensively in the second quarter while the Mystics kept struggling, opening up a 32-22 halftime lead as Washington finished the half with 15 turnovers. But Washington made its move in the last 4 1/2 minutes of the third quarter, cutting a 10-point deficit to 46-44 on Emily Engstler's floater with 2.7 seconds left.