Mystics dominate second half to beat Tempo for 3rd time

Kiki Iriafen had 25 points and 14 rebounds for the visiting Washington Mystics on Tuesday night in their 79-62 victory over the Toronto Tempo.

It was Iriafen’s 10th double-double of the season.

Shakira Austin added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Mystics (12-10), who have won all three meetings with the Tempo (10-14) this season. Michaela Onyenwere contributed 15 points to help the Mystics to their fourth win in five games.

Julie Allemand scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds for the Tempo, who have lost five of their last six.

Nyara Sabally contributed 13 points for the Tempo. Toronto’s leading scorer, Marina Mabrey, was held to eight points after entering the game averaging 21.6. She committed four turnovers and went just 3 of 13 from the field.

The Mystics surged to a 26-13 third quarter to take a seven-point advantage into the fourth.

Austin pushed the Mystics ahead by 12 points with 6:29 remaining, scoring back-to-back layups. Sonia Citron’s bucket increased the lead to 14.

Toronto’s Isabelle Harrison had eight points when she fouled out with 4:37 to play.

With defense a priority, Toronto led 17-12 after the first quarter.

Toronto led by 11 after Harrison made a driving layup with 5:56 to play in the second quarter. Iriafen’s three-point play trimmed the margin to eight with 4:16 left. Lucy Olsen nailed a 3-pointer and added a layup to cut the lead to four with 1:18 remaining. The Tempo led 32-26 at halftime.

Toronto shot 38.2% (13-for-34) from the field in the first half. Washington shot only 27.8% (10-for-36) in the half.

The Mystics opened the third quarter with a 14-3 burst to lead by five with 6:12 to play while dominating in the paint. Allemand answered with a 3-pointer to reduce the lead to two with 4:25 to go. The Mystics worked the lead back to eight points when Lauren Betts converted a layup with 3:02 left. They led 52-45 after three quarters.

–Field Level Media