Elena Delle Donne held out second half of return

The Washington Mystics got their stars back Friday against the Indiana Fever. Elena Delle Donne and Ariel Atkins returned to the court after being sidelined with ankle injuries. They joined center Shakira Austin, who returned from a lengthy absence with a hip injury the game before.

Delle Donne’s return was short-lived. Despite being on a minutes restriction, the two-time WNBA MVP’s night prematurely ended after a mere 11 minutes and six points.

Mystics head coach Eric Thibault said Delle Donne was a “little tight” at halftime, and the team sided with caution, per Kareem Copeland of The Washington Post. Thibault said it was unclear if Delle Donne was ailed by her injured ankle or something else.

Elena Delle Donne has missed 15 games this season primarily due to a sprained left ankle. She initially injured her ankle on June 30. She returned on July 9 but re-injured the ankle in the same game.

A back injury had limited Delle Donne the previous three seasons. She was diagnosed with three herniated discs during Washington’s WNBA championship run in 2019. She later had surgery. Until this season, she was hampered while recovering.

Friday night, the Mystics rallied without its star behind another big night from Brittney Sykes. Sykes scored a game-high 30 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the field, including 5-of-8 from three.

Washington broke a 71-71 tie in the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run capped by a tip-in by Austin with 37 seconds remaining. The Mystics pulled off an 83-79 win to improve to 15-16 on the season.

Atkins, who had been out since July 11, scored six points in 14 minutes. She also was on a minutes restriction. Austin finished with six points, as well, in 15 minutes. She played 14 minutes on Aug. 13.

After the win, Austin said she felt “better than last game.”

She missed 16 games with a hip strain.

Emma Cannon led Indiana (8-24) with 17 points off the bench. No. 1 overall draft pick Aliyah Boston had 16 points and a game-high ten rebounds in a losing effort.