Shakira Austin’s Putback and Sug Sutton’s strip-end-score on Tuesday won the Washington Mistics 68–64 in the final minute over WNBA’s leading Minnesota Links.
Links had to fight without a league-lending scorer Neeffa Kolier, but took a 64-62 lead with a minute to play.
Austin followed a teammate with a teammate to tie the game with a putback to a teammate’s 3-pointer, and Sutton chose Curtian Williams’ pockets and made a break-lepp with 27.2 seconds remaining to claim the lead. A pair of free throw by Sonia Citron won.
Austin exalted 19 points and seven rebels to speed up the Mystic (7-8). Sutton fell in 12 points and Ruki Kiki Irifen added 11 points and 11 boards for mystics.
The mystic joined only 37 percent of his shots (27 for 73) but ruled for the winning win.
Minnesota (12-2) stumbled as Kolier recalled his second consecutive game after suffering a week in a win on Las Vegas a week ago.
Without a colir, the Minnesota center overshadowed Alana Smith. The seventh year of Pro fell into a career-high 26 points, added 9 shoots and six blocked shots for 17. Jessica Shepard, who replaced Kolier in the initial lineup, scored 12 points and 15 rebounds.
Washington was quickly tested as Links jumped from Kayla McBrid to a three-digit game with a 20–6 gains and left in the initial quarters with 3:22. But Mistics gave 14-2 runs runs to draw within 22-20 at the end of the quarter.
Mistics took advantage of seven points gains in the second quarter and 39–37 in halftime. He extended the 3-pointer of Sutton 49–42 in four minutes in the third quarter.
Minnesota replied with 13–5 runs, when Shepard’s Le-in defeated the third quarter Bajer, established a back-end-final verse.
The 64 points of the links were a season. Minnesota extinguish the 19 turnover, with Williams to 10.
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