Hill catches fire, scores career-high 20 to power Mystics past Sun

After coming off an 86-72 loss against the Sun on Friday at the Mohegan Sun Arena, the Mystics held Connecticut to just 34% shooting and lock in their third defeat against them this season.

Washington's center Stefanie Dolson was the overall leading scorer with 21 points. However, guard Tayler Hill followed very close behind, coming off the bench with a career-high 20 points, shooting 70% from the floor. Hill was certainly the difference maker this game, knocking down most of her outside shots and attacking the paint.

Alex Bentley, who scored a career-high 31 points on Friday in the Sun's defeat over the Mystics, only managed to score two points this game, and barely played the second half of the game. Washington held Connecticut to just 34% shooting compared to Friday in which they allowed them to shoot 54% from the field.

Kelsey Bone led the Sun with 19 points, but it was Jasmine Thomas' hustle and desperation that brought Connecticut within just eight points of Washington after starting the 4^th quarter down by 19 points.

Emma Meesseman, ended the game with 11 points and six rebounds, put the first two points on the board and got the final regular season matchup between the teams rolling. The first quarter was comprised of runs from both teams, but Washington took the lead in the very first minute and never gave it up.

The Mystics went on an early 10-2 run, with Tierra Ruffin-Pratt and Dolson attacking on offense, and getting to the line. Their run was stopped by a jumper by Bentley, which were her only points of the game. The Sun was able to get within two points of Washington, going on a 6-0 run with help from Shekinna Stricklen, who made half of the team's points in the first quarter.

At the beginning of the second quarter, both teams struggled to score, but the drought was ended when Ruffin-Pratt hit her first and only three, extending their lead to eight. Although, Kelsey Bone did a good job defending the inside and penetrating the paint on offense, the Sun struggled to score against Washington's post players. Compared to Friday, in which Connecticut had 40 points in the paint, they only managed to complete 22 inside points Sunday afternoon at the Verizon Center.

Washington did not ease up on the Sun coming out of halftime. The Mystics were able to extend their 12-point lead to a 19-point lead by the start of the 4^th quarter. Hill knocked down shots on the outside, while Dolson was scoring them on the inside. The dynamic duo dominated on offense to keep Connecticut from coming in too close. It also was not much help for the Sun that they constantly fouled Washington putting them on the line 17 times, in which 28 of their points came from. Desperation kicked in for the Sun, and Thomas did not want another loss against the Mystics. She scored 9 of her 10 points in the fourth quarter, bringing them within just 8 points to Washington. Unfortunately for the Connecticut, Thomas' efforts were not enough to accomplish a comeback.

Washington stays at home for their next two games to face the Indiana Fever Tuesday evening and the Minnesota Lynx next Sunday afternoon. This will be their first meeting with the Lynx this season and face another back-to-back home and away matchup with Minnesota. The Sun head home to face Tulsa Shock Wednesday evening and then the New York Liberty Friday night. Connecticut is currently 0-1 against the Liberty.