The Washington Mystics’ late surge was not enough as Veronica Burton scored a career-high 30 points to lead the visiting Golden State Valkyries to an 88-83 win on Wednesday night.

Burton shot 6-for-9 on 3-point attempts while adding seven rebounds and seven assists for the Valkyries (17-15). Cecilia Zandalasini added her own career high with 20 points – 14 in the first half — on 6-of-8 shooting from deep while Tiffany Hayes added 14 points.

The Valkries also neutralized All-Star rookie Sonia Citron for three quarters. Citron entered the fourth quarter with only two points, but scored 13 over the final 10 minutes to fuel the Mystics’ rally. Washington trailed by 18 entering the fourth quarter, but got as close as 86-83 with 54 seconds to play.

Washington (14-18) scored the first basket of the night, but it was all Golden State from there. The Valkyries went on a 12-point run to end the first quarter for a 30-12 lead. That lead extended to 39-14 on Zandalasini’s stepback 3-pointer with eight minutes left in the first half.

To start the second half, Washington went on a 15-6 run to cut the lead down to single digits, but the Valkyries responded. With seven minutes remaining in the game, Golden State pushed the lead back up to over 20 points.

Golden State finished 15 of 32 on 3-pointers compared to Washington’s 7 for 24 showing.

Sug Sutton posted 15 points and 7 assists for the Mystics while rookie Kiki Iriafen had her 10th double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Emily Engstler was 3-of-3 from beyond the arc and led all bench players with 13 points.

Washington played without starting forward Shakira Austin, who missed the game with left leg soreness. In Austin’s place, veteran Stefanie Dolson contributed five points but only one rebound.

The win is the third in a row for the Valkyries and third this season over the Mystics in the last regular season matchup between the two sides.

–Field Level Media