Sykes scores 29, Atkins has 26 in first career double-double, Mystics top Fever 96-88
WASHINGTON (AP) — Brittney Sykes scored 29 points and Ariel Atkins had her first double-double and the Washington Mystics defeated the Indiana Fever 96-88 on Friday night.
After the Fever pulled within 87-82 with less than two minutes to play, Sykes, who had four 3-pointers, made 3 of 4 free throws and Atkins was 4 of 4 to secure the win.
Atkins had 26 points and 11 rebounds for the short-handed Mystics (10-7), who only played eight players with four starters injured. Queen Egbo had three points in 15 minutes against her former team after being acquired on in a trade on Tuesday.
Lexie Hull had a career-high 20 points for the Fever (5-13), who lost their sixth-straight. Nalyssa Smith added 19 points, Kelsey Mitchell had 18 and Aliyah Boston 12. Amanda Zahui B., who changed teams in the trade, had four in four minutes.
Behind Hull's 7-of-11 shooting, Indiana shot 55%, including 9 of 18 from 3-point range, but the Fever went 13 of 19 from the foul line while the Mystics were 32 of 37.
Indiana has given up an average of more than 90 points a game during its skid.
Indiana, led by Hull's 4-for-4 shooting, shot 53.6% in the first half but the Mystics shot 57.6%, made two more 3-pointers and five more free throws and scored 17 points off nine Fever turnovers to lead 55-40. Indiana gave up four three-point plays.
Sykes hit all four of her 3s and was 7 of 10 overall for 18 points while Atkins was 5 of 6 with a 3 for 13 points for Washington, which closed the half on a 10-4 run.
The Mystics only finished with 19 points off turnovers but the Fever only had three.
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