September 6, 2025
By Jenn Hatfield
Alysha Clark: ‘We need to win, however it’s the way you lose’
WASHINGTON — Early within the fourth quarter of Thursday’s recreation towards the Phoenix Mercury, an errant Phoenix 3-pointer led to a scramble for the rebound. Six gamers touched or leaped for the ball because it bounced round, however finally Washington Mystics ahead Emily Engstler obtained on the ground and wrested away possession. The Mystics turned that into a layup for ahead Alysha Clark, which reduce their deficit to 4 factors.
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Engstler’s rebound and Clark’s end had been the kind of performs that helped the Mystics do one thing head coach Sydney Johnson has wished all through the season: Make it a one- or two-possession recreation within the fourth quarter, in order that they have an opportunity to shut out the sport late.
The Mystics would make it a one-possession recreation with 76 seconds left on a layup by rookie ahead Kiki Iriafen. However they missed 4 pictures within the closing 36 seconds to fall 75-69.
The loss was the Mystics’ eighth straight, dropping them to 16-26 this season. Earlier than this stretch, they hadn’t misplaced greater than 4 in a row all season, regardless of being by far the WNBA’s youngest team till the commerce deadline. In actual fact, they had been hovering close to .500 for many of the yr and had been a surprise contender for a playoff spot till an Aug. 30 loss to the Golden State Valkyries — the sixth of their skid — eradicated them.
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In some video games in the course of the dropping streak, the Mystics simply couldn’t shut fairly nicely sufficient. Three of the eight video games had been determined by 6 factors or fewer.
In different video games, the Mystics didn’t play like themselves for lengthy stretches. For instance, they misplaced two video games by double digits to the Connecticut Solar, who had been in final place on the time, to start the streak.
“We have now to come back in on daily basis and do the identical factor time and again and [stay] in line with it,” level guard Sug Sutton advised The Subsequent earlier than Thursday’s recreation. “I feel we form of fell from that … all through the season. Some days we weren’t ourselves.”
Although the final eight video games have all been losses, the variations in how these video games have felt have loomed giant for the rebuilding Mystics. That’s as a result of they’ve evaluated themselves all season not on outcomes, however on the each day habits which can be central to Johnson’s tradition. These habits embody enjoying laborious, getting higher, speaking, being humble and discovering pleasure.
“There have been a pair video games by means of this stretch that we didn’t like how [they] felt,” Clark advised reporters after Thursday’s loss. “And even tonight, it’s laborious. We’re professionals. We need to win, however it’s the way you lose. I can stroll away from this saying I gave the whole lot, that my crew gave the whole lot.”
Together with the Connecticut video games, the Mystics appeared to lose their method in a 26-point loss to the New York Liberty on Aug. 28 and the 37-point loss to the Valkyries two days later. The Liberty shot 50.0% general and 47.6% from 3-point vary, getting 24 factors off the Mystics’ turnovers. Equally, the Valkyries shot 55.0% general and 38.7% from deep whereas scoring 19 factors off turnovers.
“We’d bend, however we are able to’t break,” Johnson advised reporters on Aug. 31. “We’ve had, specifically, two actually powerful outings. … I believed [in] New York … we got here near breaking. I simply didn’t really feel like we had been very related.”
The Mystics performed significantly better in a 3-point loss to the Los Angeles Sparks on Aug. 31, holding the Sparks to 40.0% taking pictures from the sphere and 27.8% from deep. That prompted Johnson to say he was “elated to see the crew that I acknowledge.”
The Mystics confirmed up nicely once more on Thursday towards the Mercury, who entered the day tied for third within the WNBA with a 26-14 report.
“I simply beloved how we competed,” Johnson stated postgame. “Shedding isn’t what we need to do. … [But] we fought, and that’s form of been who we’ve been for like 90% of our video games. So simply tremendous happy with that.”
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For the reason that commerce deadline, and particularly because the Mystics had been eradicated from the playoffs, the Mystics have experimented more with lineups and schemes. For instance, they’ve had All-Star rookie Sonia Citron provoke the offense extra, to get the ball in her arms sooner and extra simply.
“Sonia has a tremendous really feel for the sport the place she’s going to make the correct play,” participant growth lead Clinton Crouch advised The Subsequent on Saturday. “And for gamers that make the correct play, you need to discover methods to place the ball into their arms to make the sport simpler for everybody else. So … now she will get to see the sport from a distinct lens, a distinct angle, and … I feel it’s going to be actually good for her profession long-term.”
The Mystics have additionally performed zone protection on 10.9% of opponents’ halfcourt possessions of their final 11 video games. That’s up from 2.6% within the earlier 31 video games, in keeping with Synergy Sports.
“We need to be disruptive defensively,” Johnson stated earlier than Thursday’s recreation. “[We] haven’t been in a position to try this for varied causes, a few of it being what comes after that if we don’t disrupt. We haven’t actually reacted nicely defensively. And so a part of a zone, frankly, is discovering a technique to simply break rhythm. … That’s the place that comes from is defensively actually not simply at all times attempting to protect individuals’s playbook, however disrupt it.”
On Thursday, the Mystics performed zone on 11 of the Mercury’s 71 halfcourt possessions, or 15.5% of the time. Phoenix head coach Nate Tibbetts advised reporters postgame that it was probably the most zone his crew had seen all yr. And although the Mercury made 13 3-pointers, he acknowledged that the zone “simply form of slowed us down just a little bit.”
“You may see it generally,” Mercury guard Sami Whitcomb added. “Clearly, the ball will get stagnant a bit, most likely doesn’t transfer as a lot as we wish it to. And I feel generally you fall into taking pictures threes. … A number of them had been nice seems to be, however I feel generally you accept these.”
The Mystics weren’t anticipated to make the playoffs this season, and they’ve focused on growth and development all yr as they rebuild beneath Johnson and first-year common supervisor Jamila Wideman. However being eradicated from the playoffs nonetheless stung.
“Everyone’s upset about it, from coaches [to] gamers,” Sutton stated on Thursday.
Responding to being eradicated and persevering with to battle can be a brand new problem for the Mystics and their tradition.
“We notice that we’re out of playoff rivalry,” Johnson stated. “And so for us, it’s actually zeroing in on ensuring that our focus doesn’t wane by way of how we need to go about it. It’s very simple to simply form of [think], ‘Oh, what are we enjoying for?’ And I feel that’s an actual take a look at for us by way of ensuring we’ve professional habits. … Whether or not it’s observe, whether or not it’s your rehab, your ability growth, all of it wants to remain the identical.”
To date, a number of gamers and coaches say that issues have stayed the identical and that they’re competing simply as laborious on daily basis — motivated partly by desirous to snap the dropping streak.
“I simply need to win,” Citron advised The Subsequent earlier than Thursday’s recreation.
“I really like the sport. I’m enjoying for this crew,” Sutton added. “I’m enjoying for us to get higher. I’m enjoying to get higher individually as some extent guard, and no matter occurs, I’m simply attempting to do that for our crew and attempting to proceed to drag us collectively.”
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The management of the Mystics’ two veterans, Clark and middle Stefanie Dolson, has been essential for transferring previous the frustration and discovering function in the remainder of the season. Each gamers have emphasised how the Mystics are enjoying, not simply what the scoreboard says. They’ve additionally talked about how a lot these video games matter for the crew’s development and future success.
“What you do that yr, you’re planting the seeds for 2, three years down the road,” Clark stated. “In order that method, when … they’re sitting right here two years from now and also you’re speaking to them about going to the Finals or no matter, they’re going to have the ability to look again at this season and be like, ‘We planted good seeds. We planted tradition seeds.’”
A type of seeds is full accountability, which Clark stated is one thing the three championship groups she has been on have had in frequent. On these groups — the 2018 and 2020 Seattle Storm and 2023 Las Vegas Aces — any participant might maintain a teammate accountable and there can be a constructive response.
“When you may have that degree of accountability from one by means of 12, it makes an enormous distinction,” Clark stated. “… So having the ability to form of simply remind [the Mystics players] of that, I feel, has been fairly cool.”
The Mystics have two video games left, towards the Indiana Fever on Sunday and towards the Liberty on Tuesday. Shedding these video games might give them better odds at the top pick within the 2026 WNBA Draft. Profitable would preserve them from ending the season on a 10-game dropping streak. However whatever the final result, how they play in these final two video games will matter most, as each possession left is an opportunity to be taught for the long run.
“It’s powerful. Shedding sucks for everyone,” Iriafen advised reporters on Aug. 31, after the streak hit seven video games. “… [But] you form of need to undergo these rising pains to get to the highest of the mountain. So I feel I’m simply shifting my perspective to that. Like, all of that is taking place for a purpose. There’s a lot that we are able to be taught from this.”
Monumental Sports activities and Leisure, the group that owns the Washington Mystics, holds a minority stake in The Subsequent. The Subsequent’s editorial operations are totally unbiased of Monumental and all different enterprise companions.
Jenn Hatfield is The Subsequent’s managing editor, Washington Mystics beat reporter and Ivy League beat reporter. She has been a contributor to The Subsequent since December 2018. Her work has additionally appeared at FiveThirtyEight, Her Hoop Stats, FanSided, Energy Performs, The Equalizer and Princeton Alumni Weekly.
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