Elena Delle Donne had 17 points, Brittney Sykes scored 16 in the first half before leaving with an eye injury, and the Washington Mystics never trailed during their 88-69 win over the visiting Phoenix Mercury.

From the get-go, Washington took advantage of the absence of active WNBA legends Brittney Griner (hip) and Diana Taurasi (hamstring), who was a late scratch for Phoenix. The Mystics scored the game’s first nine points.

Delle Donne opened the game with a short jumper, Sykes followed with a bucket and made another on the other side of a 3-pointer from Li Meng (14 points) to give the Mystics (6-4) a 9-0 lead.

Washington maintained control from there, making 11-of-19 field goals and owning an 11-5 rebound advantage to lead by 14 after one quarter.

Meng went 4-of-9 from 3-point range overall for the Mystics, who shot 58.3 percent and made seven of their 11 overall 3s to lead 54-38 at halftime.

The Mystics, who led by as many as 24 in the second half, shot 50 percent for the game, totaled 22 assists and held a 16-6 advantage in fast-break points despite playing without their own injured star guard Natasha Cloud (ankle).

Sykes, who entered averaging 9.3 points and scored 18 at Seattle on June 9 for her only other double-digit performance this season, went 6-of-7 from the field in the first half.

However, Sykes, who also recorded five steals, took a hit to the face while passing in traffic early in the second half and did not return.

Michaela Onyenwere had a season-high 20 points with nine rebounds, while Sophie Cunningham knocked down three 3-pointers and finished with 13 points for the Mercury (2-7), who missed their first five field-goal attempts.

Phoenix shot 39 percent for the game, but committed 19 turnovers and were outrebounded 28-22 at the defensive end of the court while dropping to 1-4 on the road this season.

–Field Level Media