Marina Mabrey, Sun look to topple struggling Mystics

The Connecticut Sun will vie for their third win in four outings following a 0-5 start in Sunday's showdown against the host Washington Mystics.

Connecticut (2-6) comes in off an 84-76 win on Friday over Atlanta.

Marina Mabrey scored 34 points and Tina Charles added 19 for the Sun, who won despite shooting just 3-for-15 from 3-point range. Mabrey, however, made 13 of 22 shots from the field.

The Sun won the second-half rebounding battle 15-9 and held Atlanta to just 39 percent shooting after intermission.

Head coach Rachid Meziane applauded that defensive effort.

"I think that we controlled the rebounding," Meziane said. "I think we did a great job with that part of the game. They played tough, but we certainly contested a lot of their shots."

Washington (3-6) has lost three in a row and six of its last seven games.

In the Mystics' 86-78 setback to the New York Liberty on Thursday, rookies Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron scored 17 and 13 points, respectively.

But New York outshot the Mystics, going 10-for-28 from 3-point range (35.7 percent) and 24-for-30 from the foul line (80 percent), while Washington finished 5-for-19 (26.3 percent) and 15-for-24 (62.5 percent).

Washington has been working through lineup combination changes with Shakira Austin and Aaliyah Edwards returning from injuries. A 32-12 second quarter gave the Liberty a comfortable lead before the Mystics pulled within four points late in the game.

"Yeah, we've had some stress points," Washington coach Sydney Johnson said. "Whether it's a tough whistle or (being) on the road or a certain player on the other team heating up or maybe our own individual mistakes. But they find a way to come back... If we can bottle that up... we know we've got something."

These teams previously played on May 18, with Brittney Sykes scoring 27 points to pace Washington to a 90-85 victory.