The IX Basketball, a 24\/7\/365 women\u2019s basketball newsroom powered by The Next They\u2019ve done that through better ball movement: They\u2019re averaging 2.6 more assists<\/a> and 2.2 fewer turnovers per game than they did before the break. And though they led the WNBA in free throws made and attempted<\/a> per game before the break, they\u2019re near the middle of the pack since then. That could reflect a tighter whistle from the officials or better defending from opponents, but it could also indicate less reliance on one-on-one offense and more emphasis on ball movement.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re really hard to guard when we share the ball and we\u2019re able to move the ball,\u201d point guard Sug Sutton<\/a> told reporters after a win over the Seattle Storm on July 26. \u201cWe can get whatever we want.\u201d<\/p>\n The Mystics have also started games better since the All-Star break. Before the break, they scored about 90 points per 100 possessions<\/a> in the first and second quarters and over 100 in the last two. Since the break, they\u2019ve improved in each of the first three quarters but tailed off in the fourth. (That drop-off may be partly due to their unforgiving schedule, which featured four games in six days ending on Thursday.)<\/p>\n Offensive rating is points scored per 100 possessions. Source: WNBA Stats<\/a><\/p>\n Part of why the Mystics are improving offensively is simply that they\u2019re working on it more lately. Assistant coach Emre Vatansever, the team\u2019s offensive coordinator, is trying to prepare the players for new ways opponents will guard them now that they know more about the Mystics\u2019 tendencies individually and as a team. And the coaches are spending a lot of time teaching not only which reads players can make in the flow of the offense, but also why those reads are the right ones in certain situations.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a learning curve in terms of understanding, OK, now you\u2019ve kind of set a nice basis for what you can do individually and as a team. And now you get scouted and it\u2019s like, oh, those first one or two looks that you have normally gotten, those are gone, and it\u2019s now Look 3 and Look 4 and Look 5,\u201d Johnson told reporters before facing Seattle on July 26. \u201c\u2026 We\u2019re here to support them and help them figure that out. And [that] has to happen for us to try to continue to have the success that we want.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely been an adjustment,\u201d rookie forward Kiki Iriafen<\/a> told The Next before a game against the Golden State Valkyries on Thursday. \u201cI think for me, [it\u2019s] just staying with it, trusting the process, understanding that maybe what worked in the first half of the season isn\u2019t going to necessarily work now. \u2026 I think patience is a virtue, so that\u2019s what I\u2019ve been embodying.\u201d<\/p>\n Another reason the offense is running more smoothly is that Sutton and fellow point guard Jade Melbourne<\/a> have seemingly hit their stride in Johnson\u2019s system. The 26-year-old Sutton, who was the final pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft, is in her first season as a full-time starter and is shooting career-best percentages<\/a> from the field (44.9%) and from 3-point range (40.8%). She is averaging 7.5 points per game and has scored in double figures nine times, including a 13-point performance against Seattle.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the 22-year-old Melbourne is averaging career highs of 6.3 points<\/a> and 2.7 assists in 23.3 minutes per game off the bench. She is shooting 39.3% from the field and 33.3% from 3-point range in her third WNBA season. One night after Sutton\u2019s performance against Seattle, Melbourne had 13 points and four assists in a loss to the Phoenix Mercury.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been watching a lot of film with [assistant coach] Jessie [Miller],\u201d Melbourne told reporters after Sunday\u2019s game, \u201cand just trying to take ownership of the offense, just minor details I wasn\u2019t setting up maybe earlier in the season. Now I\u2019m creating more advantages off screens and \u2026 just trying to find gaps.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c[Sutton and Melbourne] really set the tone for this group, how they want to play offensively,\u201d Phoenix head coach Nate Tibbetts told reporters before Sunday\u2019s game.<\/p>\n Want even more women\u2019s sports in your inbox?<\/strong><\/p>\n Subscribe now to The IX Sports<\/a> and receive our daily women\u2019s sports newsletter covering soccer, tennis, basketball, golf, hockey and gymnastics from our incredible team of writers. That includes Basketball Wednesday from founder and editor Howard Megdal.<\/p>\n Readers of The IX Basketball now save 50% on their subscription to The IX.<\/p>\n The Mystics\u2019 offensive improvements haven\u2019t always been obvious on the scoreboard, but the coaches see them coming piece by piece. Against Seattle and Phoenix, the Mystics scored just 69 and 72 points, respectively. But Johnson liked how they strung together better passes, even though the shots didn\u2019t fall.<\/p>\n \u201c[That was] some of our best basketball offensively these two games,\u201d Johnson said after the Phoenix game. \u201cIt\u2019s outstanding. \u2026 Their openness and willingness to try to find the solutions and respond to film \u2014 and they\u2019re saying to me, \u2018Coach, hold us accountable. We want to keep pushing.\u2019 I don\u2019t know if I could ask for anything more.\u201d<\/p>\n On Tuesday \u2014 the team\u2019s third game in four days \u2014 the Mystics\u2019 progress was more obvious, as they scored 103 points on 50.7% shooting in a win over the Chicago Sky. They had 25 assists, matching their season high, against only 10 turnovers. The beneficiaries were often Iriafen and fellow All-Star rookie Sonia Citron<\/a>, who had career highs of 22 and 28 points, respectively. It was the first time in franchise history that two rookies each scored 20 or more points<\/a> in the same game.<\/p>\n Looking back at that game on Thursday, Johnson pointed out how Citron has improved at handling the physicality<\/a> with which defenders are guarding her and how Iriafen has responded to double-teams by looking to the offensive glass to jumpstart her scoring.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re just kind of working their way through cracking the code,\u201d he said, \u201cand I think that\u2019s impressive as rookies.\u201d<\/p>\n The Mystics are also showing some signs of diversifying the offense, though that\u2019s still a work in progress. Before the All-Star break, a league-high 58% of their shots<\/a> came in the paint, and a league-low 26% were 3-pointers. Since the break, their share of paint shots hasn\u2019t budged, but they\u2019ve attempted 24 3-pointers in each of their past two games. That tied their season high, yet it\u2019s still below the WNBA average this season of 24.4 3-point attempts per game<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Mystics\u2019 uptick in 3-point shooting is partly because opponents are locked in on keeping them out of the paint. Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase summed up that mindset before facing the Mystics on Thursday, saying, \u201cThey space really well, but at the end of the day, they really want to get to the paint. \u2026 So it\u2019s really about protecting the paint and not fouling.\u201d<\/p>\n Against the Valkyries, the Mystics shot 2-for-14 from behind the arc in the first half but 5-for-10 in the second. Johnson saw progress in that, too: His players got good looks in the first half and didn\u2019t make them, but they stayed confident enough to hit them in the second. Citron epitomized that, going 0-for-3 in the first half but 2-for-3 in the second.<\/p>\n The Mystics aren\u2019t suddenly going to become one of the WNBA\u2019s best 3-point shooting teams late in the season. But continuing to take those shots should be enough to pull defenses away from the paint and give the Mystics more room to operate there.<\/p>\n Tune in to Locked On Women\u2019s Basketball<\/strong><\/p>\n Here at The IX Basketball, in addition to the 24\/7\/365 written content our staff provides, we also host the daily Locked On Women\u2019s Basketball<\/a> podcast. Join us Monday through Saturday each week as we discuss all things WNBA, collegiate basketball, basketball history and much more. Listen wherever you find podcasts or watch on YouTube.<\/p>\n Overall, the Mystics are gradually improving offensively, and the results are starting to show over the last five games. But they are still looking for consistency for 40 minutes and from game to game, which is often one of the toughest challenges for a young team.<\/p>\n The Mystics became known early in the season for their comebacks<\/a>, with seven of their 11 wins before the All-Star break coming after trailing by 10 points or more. They nearly did it again against Golden State on Thursday, turning a 17-point deficit into a 1-point lead in the fourth quarter before losing by a point.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just kind of focus on trying to play at our level,\u201d Johnson said after that game. \u201c\u2026 So I think that that translates to these moments where, \u2018It\u2019s OK, we\u2019re down 14, but let\u2019s \u2026 try to get to what we do.\u2019 And it has shown a lot, and it\u2019s a really good feeling.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re gonna win some of those, which we have, and that\u2019s a good feeling. You\u2019re going to lose some of those, and it\u2019s a little bitter. But it\u2019s good to stay true to yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n Ultimately, as the Mystics sit in ninth place in the WNBA standings with a 13-14 record, whether they make the playoffs might come down to how much more they improve on offense. For the full season, they rank fifth in the league defensively<\/a> with 100.2 points allowed per 100 possessions, but they\u2019re only 11th in points scored per 100 possessions.<\/p>\n And while missing the playoffs would give them a chance at the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, getting playoff experience would help their young players further grow and develop, which has been a goal all season.<\/p>\n \u201cYou want to go out there and play to win and show the growth that you have every single day,\u201d Johnson said on July 26. \u201cAnd so then wherever that leads, it leads. \u2026 You can take a lot of learning from making the playoffs. You can take a lot of learning from striving to be in the playoff hunt. \u2026<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to be playing relevant basketball all the way up to [when the regular season ends on] Sept. 9. And then what happens, happens.\u201d<\/p>\n Your business can reach over 3 million women\u2019s sports fans every single month!<\/strong><\/p>\n Here at The IX Basketball<\/a> and The IX Sports<\/a>, our audience is a collection of the smartest, most passionate women\u2019s sports fans in the world. If your business has a mission to serve these fans, reach out to our team at BAlarie@theixsports.com<\/a> to discuss ways to work together.<\/p>\n Monumental Sports and Entertainment, the group that owns the Washington Mystics, holds a minority stake in The Next. The Next\u2019s editorial operations are entirely independent of Monumental and all other business partners.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Indeed, the Mystics lost their first game after the All-Star break, 93-86 to the Los Angeles Sparks, to…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":113633,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[71564,8197,44005,71565,71566,34429,17271,35694,43367,71567,71568,55490,44572,34428,62,71569,71570,67,132,68,1514,232],"class_list":{"0":"post-113632","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-2025-wnba-playoff-race","9":"tag-3-point-shooting","10":"tag-assists","11":"tag-comebacks","12":"tag-jade-melbourne","13":"tag-kiki-iriafen","14":"tag-natalie-nakase","15":"tag-nate-tibbetts","16":"tag-offense","17":"tag-offensive-improvement","18":"tag-player-development","19":"tag-point-guard","20":"tag-rookies","21":"tag-sonia-citron","22":"tag-sports","23":"tag-sug-sutton","24":"tag-sydney-johnson","25":"tag-united-states","26":"tag-unitedstates","27":"tag-us","28":"tag-washington-mystics","29":"tag-wnba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114960567063761668","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113632"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113632\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/strong>
The IX Basketball<\/a>: A basketball newsroom brought to you by The IX Sports<\/a>. 24\/7\/365 women\u2019s basketball coverage, written, edited and photographed by our young, diverse staff and dedicated to breaking news, analysis, historical deep dives and projections about the game we love.<\/p>\nOffensive rating before All-Star break (22 games)Offensive rating after All-Star break (5 games)<\/tr>\n \n First quarter<\/td>\n 90.8<\/td>\n 112.7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Second quarter<\/td>\n 89.9<\/td>\n 96.0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Third quarter<\/td>\n 101.1<\/td>\n 105.8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Fourth quarter<\/td>\n 107.3<\/td>\n 87.5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n ![\"Washington](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/DAA1784.jpg\")
Washington Mystics guard Sug Sutton (1) shoots the ball during a game against the Phoenix Mercury at CareFirst Arena in Washington, D.C., on July 27, 2025. (Photo credit: Domenic Allegra | The Next)<\/p>\n![\"Washington](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/DAA_0676.jpg\")
Washington Mystics guard Sonia Citron (right) uses a screen from forward Kiki Iriafen (left) during a game against the Dallas Wings at CareFirst Arena in Washington, D.C., on June 22, 2025. (Photo credit: Domenic Allegra | The Next)<\/p>\n![\"Locked](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1754158932_137_locked-on-wbb-ad.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Washington](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/DAA1295.jpg\")
Washington Mystics center\/forward Shakira Austin (left) and guard Jade Melbourne (5) celebrate a win over the Las Vegas Aces at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, Va., on July 10, 2025. (Photo credit: Domenic Allegra | The Next)<\/p>\n