Strong finish carries Mystics to upset of league-best Lynx

Sonia Citron scored 21 points on Sunday to help the visiting Washington Mystics earn an 84-79 victory over the league-best Minnesota Lynx in Minneapolis.

Kiki Iriafen added 17 points and Cotie McMahon had 15 for Washington (8-7), which won its fourth game in five outings. The Mystics outscored the Lynx 28-19 in the fourth quarter.

Olivia Miles led Minnesota (13-4) with 22 points and six assists, while Natasha Howard scored 20 points and Courtney Williams chipped in 13. Kayla McBride tallied 12 points for the Lynx, who had won 11 of their previous 12.

Washington erased a seven-point halftime deficit, pulling even at 49 with 5:30 left in the third quarter. After Minnesota built back a six-point edge, McMahon’s layup cut the margin to four, 60-56, entering the final quarter.

With 7:56 remaining in the fourth, Washington took its first lead since the second quarter, as Lauren Betts’ layup made it 63-62.

McMahon split a pair of free throws to give the Mystics a 70-69 lead, before Miles’ three-point play began a 7-0 run to give the Lynx a six-point lead.

McMahon answered with a triple to pull within three with 2:14 left. With just over a minute left, Iriafen’s layup cut Minnesota’s lead to 76-75.

The Mystics then forced a shot clock turnover and took a 77-76 lead on Iriafen’s basket with 19 seconds remaining. Following a Minnesota timeout, Miles committed a turnover and fouled Georgia Amoore, who split two foul shots. Iriafen’s offensive rebound on Amoore’s miss was followed with another 1-for-2 trip to the free-throw line, giving Washington a three-point lead with 14 seconds left.

Again, Washington snagged the offensive rebound on the miss and Michaela Onyenwere made one of her two free-throw attempts to push the margin to four, 80-76.

Nia Coffey’s missed 3-pointer and Citron’s subsequent free throws iced the comeback win.

Minnesota jumped out to an 8-0 lead on Coffey’s 3-pointer less than two minutes into the game. Washington took its first lead with 1:32 remaining in the opening quarter, as Angela Dugalic’s back-to-back layups put the visitors ahead 21-20.

The teams were deadlocked at 22 apiece after 10 minutes of play.

After Iriafen’s layup tied the score at 28, Maya Caldwell’s and Howard’s consecutive baskets began a 10-0 Minnesota spurt.

Miles’ layup made it 42-32 with 29 seconds remaining, before McMahon’s 3-pointer in the final seconds sliced Minnesota’s halftime lead to 42-35.

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This story was originally published June 21, 2026 at 8:44 PM.