Sun earn first winning streak of season by holding off Mystics

Olivia Nelson-Ododa scored 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds as the Connecticut Sun won their second in a row with a 68-57 victory over the Washington Mystics Friday night in Uncasville, Conn.

Leila Lacan scored 12, Kennedy Burke finished with 11 points off the bench and Brittney Griner and Charlisse Leger-Walker scored 10 points apiece for the Sun (4-15), who have now won two in a row for the first time all season.

Kiki Iriafen led the Mystics (8-9) with 11 points and 14 rebounds while Georgia Amoore tallied 14 points with four 3-pointers. Sonia Citron added 11 points for Washington, which has lost two in a row and saw its three-game road winning streak end.

The Sun were outrebounded 45-27 but outscored the Mystics 40-24 in the paint and forced 22 turnovers.

Connecticut opened the third quarter on an 11-5 run, grabbing its first double-digit lead of the night at 41-31 after Nelson-Ododa scored inside on a jumper with 6:12 remaining.

Washington stayed within striking distance, though, and only trailed 52-47 going to the fourth following a pair of free throws from Citron.

The Mystics closed their gap to 52-51 at the eight-minute mark of the fourth on a layup by Lauren Betts, who proceeded to block a shot at the other end. Washington turned that into a basket by Michaela Onyenwere to take the lead with 7:21 left.

A 7-0 run by the Sun, highlighted by Leger-Walker's 3-pointer with 5:20 to go, gave Connecticut a shot of momentum and a 59-53 lead. Burke's running 3-pointer at the 3:25 mark put the Sun ahead by nine and Washington never threatened.

Shakira Austin drilled a 3-pointer to help stake the Mystics to a 5-0 lead with 8:48 remaining in the opening quarter. The Sun responded and led 10-9 on Diamond Miller's reverse layup with 4:35 left.

But Connecticut didn't score over the final 4:06 of the first, while Washington went the last 2:53 of the period without scoring after taking a 14-12 lead on a layup by Angela Dugalic.

A 10-0 run gave the Sun a 26-19 advantage with 4:46 left in the half. The Mystics went just over five minutes without scoring before Amoore nailed a long-distance shot in the corner with three minutes to go, cutting their deficit to 26-22.

Connecticut held on, however, and led 30-26 at halftime.

--Field Level Media