The Washington Mystics firmly stood their ground against the WNBA’s newest super team to begin the 2023 season.

Meanwhile, the Connecticut Sun avoided a fourth-quarter collapse to spoil the debut of the league’s No. 1 overall pick.

Both squads will aim to build on Friday’s season-opening wins when the Mystics and Sun meet on Sunday in Uncasville, Conn.

Washington glided past the visiting New York Liberty 80-64 on Friday night behind a stout defensive display against a team many consider a title favorite.

The Mystics stifled former MVPs Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones, both of whom the Liberty acquired in the offseason, to a combined 17 points on 5-for-16 (31.3 percent) shooting.

Washington also forced four of New York’s 22 turnovers from newly acquired Courtney Vandersloot, the league’s all-time assists average leader, and held returning star Sabrina Ionescu to 18 points on a dreary 7-for-20 (35 percent) mark in the statement win.

“Y’all can keep sleeping,” Mystics guard Natasha Cloud told The Washington Post. “We’re confident in what we have in this locker room. And you can continue to talk about the superhero teams, but we know who we are.”

Cloud and Ariel Atkins scored 14 points apiece to lead Washington, while Elena Delle Donne added 13 to begin what she hopes is her healthiest season in four years. Back injuries have limited Delle Donne to just 31 games since her MVP campaign during the Mystics’ 2019 championship run.

The Sun used a balanced scoring output from their core of DeWanna Bonner (19 points), Alyssa Thomas (18) and Brionna Jones (13) to hold off top pick Aliyah Boston and the Indiana Fever 70-61 on Friday in Indianapolis.

Connecticut never trailed en route to building a 19-point lead in the third quarter before the Fever surged back in the game’s closing minutes.

Boston’s layup trimmed the Sun’s lead to three with 2:25 remaining, but Thomas scored six straight points for her team down the stretch to lock up a win in head coach Stephanie White’s Sun debut.

“We’ve got a great core group who understands what it takes to be successful,” said White, who takes over a Connecticut squad that fell to Las Vegas in last season’s WNBA Finals. “We’ll continue to put one foot in front of the other and get better every day.”

Boston finished with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting.

The Sun went 2-1 against the Mystics in last season’s matchups, all of which were won by the home team.

–Field Level Media

With lots of debuts out of the way, the Indiana Fever and New York Liberty will try to accomplish another first when they meet Sunday afternoon in New York.

One of these teams will pick up its first victory of the season.

Both teams lost season openers Friday night, with the Fever falling at home to the Connecticut Sun and the Liberty losing a road game to the Washington Mystics.

It could take time before these teams gel.

“It has got to build up,” New York coach Sandy Brondello said after her team’s 80-64 setback. “I wish we had a long camp with our full team. But it was good to get one game out of the way. We’ll learn a lot from this.”

Guard Sabrina Ionescu collected 18 points and eight rebounds for the Liberty, however Breanna Stewart finished with just 12 points on 3-for-10 shooting from the field in her Liberty debut.

“The more chemistry we build, it will take care of itself,” Ionescu said.

On Sunday, Stewart will play at home for her home-state team. She spent her entire pro career with Seattle.

The Liberty also might look for more from forward Jonquel Jones, who was limited to 19 minutes in the opener. Brondello said with Jones and Courtney Vandersloot still working back into full-time form, their playing time might be abbreviated early in the season.

“It’s a long season,” Brondello said. “I’d love to play them as much as I could.”

The Fever have a star in the making in rookie Aliyah Boston, who was the overall No. 1 pick in last month’s draft. She provided 15 points and nine rebounds in her professional debut, a 70-61 setback to the Sun.

“I don’t really look at myself as a rookie,” Boston said. “Just because I just look at it as basketball. It’s another level up, but I’m just a competitor.”

Boston, a college standout for South Carolina, is expected to make a big impact for the Fever.

“She doesn’t have a rookie mindset,” teammate Kelsey Mitchell said. “She’s a player. She’s going to compete. I wouldn’t want anybody else on my side.”

Mitchell gave the Fever a game-high 20 points. The Fever, who were hindered by 33.3 percent shooting from the field, got minutes from 10 players in the opener.

First-year coach Christie Sides of the Fever is in search of her first victory. Her first game in charge was hindered by a 43-35 rebounding deficit and Indiana’s 19 turnovers.

The Liberty had good work on the boards against Washington, securing a 40-32 advantage in that category.

“That’s one of our goals,” Brondello said. “But eight offensive boards, and we didn’t convert them to points. Lots of offensive boards, but we missed them. We’ve got to get our legs under us.”

–Field Level Media