Mystics' young duo could thrive against Tempo's shoddy defense

Field Level Media|published: Wed 19th August, 05:27 2026

Aug 15, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Mystics guard Sonia Citron (22) shoots the ball as Los Angeles Sparks guard Tonie Morgan (4) defends in the second half at CareFirst Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Some call them "Kitron," a combination of their names.

By any name, the Washington Mystics' second-year duo of Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen are going to be around for a while.

They teamed for 40 points on Saturday night during an 80-70 home win over the Los Angeles Sparks. They will look to get Washington another step closer to a WNBA playoff spot Wednesday night against the visiting Toronto Tempo.

Citron scored 21 points against Los Angeles, sinking 8 of 14 shots from the field (4 of 5 from 3-point range) and adding eight assists and six rebounds. Iriafen added 19 points, converting 9 of 12 attempts from the floor while grabbing eight rebounds.

For Iriafen, it was a bounce-back performance after managing only five points in her previous game during an 83-76 loss in Las Vegas.

"Don't get too high, don't get too low," she said of her mindset after that game. "Sometimes, those games happen. You don't get down on yourself, you watch film and try to learn."

What the league has learned about Washington (20-14) is that it appears headed for its first playoff berth in three years. The Mystics lead the league in rebounding at 37.7 per game and are second in scoring defense (82.4 points per game), making up for an offense that ranks 14th in scoring (81.6).

While Washington looks to be postseason-bound, Toronto (10-24) is not. The Tempo dropped their 11th straight game Tuesday night with a 101-95 setback against visiting Indiana, spoiling the return of leading scorer Brittney Sykes.

Averaging 20.1 ppg before going down on June 16 with a left plantar fascia injury, Sykes scored 15 points and dished out five assists on Tuesday night.

"It's been a testing eight weeks but, you know, it taught me a lot about myself," she said. "In this point in my career, I've been here before but it seems like this injury was way harder to deal with."

Poor defense has been a consistent issue for the Tempo. They've given up at least 90 points in 10 straight games and 100 six different times during the stretch.

Washington has taken the teams' first three matchups this year.

--Field Level Media

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