By: Jennifer Portee
8/1/2026
Shakira Austin had one of those nights where everything looked calm, even when the game wasn’t. She finished with a season-high 28 points and 10 rebounds, Kiki Iriafen added 22 points and nine boards, and the Washington Mystics held off the Dallas Wings 81-75 on Friday night.
Washington (16-12) has now won four straight for the first time since September 2020, and this one had the feel of a team that’s starting to figure out how to close. Dallas made it interesting late, but the Mystics handled the final stretch better and did the simple things when it mattered.
Cotie McMahon knocked down Washington’s final field goal with 2:50 left to push the lead to 71-68, and after that the Mystics finished the job at the line, going a perfect 10 for 10. Sonia Citron had a rough shooting night, going 3 for 18 from the floor, but she stayed on the stripe and finished with 16 points after making all 10 of her free throws. Washington only went to the line 13 times, and Citron accounted for most of that.
Dallas (18-11) had its chances. Paige Bueckers led the Wings with 23 points, and Arike Ogunbowale finished with 20, though 14 of those came in the first half. She finally broke through from the field in the second half with a 3-pointer at the 5:12 mark, giving Dallas its first lead since the opening minutes, but that was also her first made field goal after halftime.
The Wings have now dropped three of their last four.
Washington looked like the more composed team down the stretch, which is usually what shows up when a group is starting to believe in its own momentum. That four-game run is the kind of thing a locker room notices, especially when it’s been years since the last time it happened.
Dallas hosts Connecticut on Sunday. Washington gets the Wings again Wednesday night.