Connecticut Snaps 13-road game Losing Streak

Washington D.C. (August 19, 2025) – Tonight, the Connecticut Sun (7-27) beat the Washington Mystics (16-19) at CareFirst Arena. The Sun are now 1-2 against the Mystics during the 2025 regular season with Thursday, August 21 being their final meeting of the year.

Saniya Rivers led all Sun scorers with 17 points and four rebounds. Following Rivers was Olivia Nelson-Ododa with 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Rounding out the double-digit scorers was Tina Charles with 13 points and nine rebounds.

Leila Lacan finished with eight points, a team-high five assists and team-high four steals. Tonight’s outing marked Leila Lacan’s third game with 4+ steals this season. She is the only rookie this season to record three or more games with 4+ steals.

Washington began the game on a 13-5 run to force Connecticut into a timeout with 5:52 to play in the first quarter. The Mystics started 75% (6/8) from the floor, while the Sun shot just 28.6% (2/7) to begin the game. Connecticut closed the first quarter on a 16-10 run to close the gap to two, 23-21, heading into the second. Saniya Rivers led the Sun with seven points, one rebound and one steal through the first quarter.

The second quarter began with Saniya Rivers tying the game at 23 with 9:42 left in the first half. Aaliyah Edwards then made back-to-back plays, scoring four points and giving the Sun a four point lead, 27-23. The Mystics stop the bleeding with a layup, bringing the deficit back to two, 27-25. The Sun responded with four more points before a timeout was called with 5:57 left in the half, 31-25. Out of the timeout, the Sun went on a 5-2 run with Lindsay Allen scoring a three-pointer and Olivia Nelson-Ododa making a jump shot to make the score 36-27 with 4:32 left in the half. The two teams traded baskets until the Mystics made five in a row to bring the Sun lead to 38-35 with 3:13 left in the half. Leila Lacan responded with a layup to put the Sun back up five and Bria Hartley immediately got a steal in transition and drew a foul to go to the line with just under three minutes left prior to a timeout being called. Out of the timeout, the Sun went on a 7-0 run, ending the half with a Marina Mabrey steal and layup to make the score 47-35 at the end of the half.

The second half began with the Sun scoring four quick points, extending the lead to 51-35 and going on an 11-0 run since the second quarter. The Mystics end their drought with six unanswered points to bring the score to 51-41 with 7:28 left in the third quarter before a Sun timeout is called. The Mystics went on an 8-4 run out of the timeout and made the score 55-49 with 3:37 left in the third quarter. The Sun go on a quick run with Olivia Nelson-Ododa making two free throws and a Leila Lacan steal turned into a made jumper to put the Sun lead back in double digits, 59-49. Saniya Rivers then made a mid-range jump shot to increase the lead to 61-49 with a minute left in the quarter. The two teams then traded trips to the foul line for the rest of the quarter, ending it with a Sun double digit lead, 62-51.

Beginning the fourth quarter, the Mystics scored a quick layup to bring the Sun lead back to single digits. The Sun hit back with four transition points off a steal and a block respectively to give the Sun a 66-53 lead. Then Olivia Nelson-Ododa scored four points as the two teams went back and forth on scoring possessions before a timeout was called with 6:48 left in the game, 70-57. The Sun scored six unanswered points before the the Mystics returned the favor and scored four unanswered points prior to a timeout on the floor with almost three minutes left in the quarter, 76-61. The Mystics 8-2 run out of the timeout could not stop the Sun as the time expired with the Sun leading 80-69.

The Sun bench outscored the Mystics bench 45-11, with a new season high in bench points. The Sun shot 45.6% (31/68) while the Mystics shot 43.5% (27/62) from the field tonight. From the three-point line, the Sun shot 18.8% (3/16) and the Mystics shot 29.4% (5/17). The Sun also outscored the Sparks in fast break points (10 to 6) and points in the paint (40 to 38).

The Mystics were led by Sonia Citron with 19 points and three assists. Shakira Austin followed with 12 points and seven rebounds. Jade Melbourne rounded out their double-digit scorers with 11 points and four assists. Starters Kiki Iriafen and Sug Sutton also contributed game highs of 12 rebounds and seven assists respectively.

NEXT GAME: The Connecticut Sun are back in action on Thursday, August 21 at 7:00 PM ET when they play the Washington Mystics at Mohegan Sun Arena.