The team\u2019s success came in large part from its ability to score in and protect the paint. Through Sunday, the Mystics led the WNBA in points per game in the paint<\/a> and allowed the fewest paint points of any team. They were outscoring opponents in the paint by 22.7 points per game, and no other team was doing so by even 10 points.<\/p>\n The Mystics also ranked third in second-chance points per game and fourth in defensive rating<\/a>, which measures points allowed per 100 possessions.<\/p>\n However, Johnson\u2019s words proved prescient on Monday, as the Mystics faltered in a 92-69 loss to the Wings. They got off to a difficult start, scoring just 9 points in the first quarter, and never recovered.<\/p>\n Dallas packed the paint to try to limit Austin and Iriafen, and that took the Mystics\u2019 offense completely out of rhythm. The Mystics hadn\u2019t had a team pack the paint against them yet, and they didn\u2019t make the right adjustments in time.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe just didn\u2019t have enough recognition of what to do or where to go,\u201d Austin told reporters postgame. \u201cSo we just got to get back to practice and get all on the same page. I think we just were never really in sync when it came to that.\u201d<\/p>\n The Mystics scored 34 paint points, down considerably from their average of 50.7 entering the game<\/a>. And though Austin and backup center Lauren Betts<\/a> combined for 23 points on 10-for-17 shooting, Iriafen and Citron had relatively quiet nights.<\/p>\n The Mystics also committed 19 turnovers, which turned into 23 Dallas points. Turnovers have been an issue all season, though the Big Three\u2019s efficiency in the first three games largely compensated for that. Through four games, the Mystics are allowing 9.5 more points off turnovers<\/a> than they\u2019re scoring off opponents\u2019 turnovers, which is the worst differential in the WNBA.<\/p>\n On Monday, those turnovers, as well as the Wings\u2019 11 offensive rebounds, meant that Dallas got 70 shot attempts to Washington\u2019s 49. That put a lot of pressure on the Mystics\u2019 defense to play well and on their offense to maximize limited opportunities.<\/p>\n The Wings ended up outscoring the Mystics by 2 points in the paint and by 1 in second-chance points, and forward Jessica Shepard<\/a> had her way with 12 points, 16 rebounds and six assists. All in all, Dallas essentially did to Washington what Washington had done to other teams in the first three games, and the scoreboard reflected it.<\/p>\n Listen now to The IX Sports Podcast and Women\u2019s Sports Daily<\/strong> But just as Friday\u2019s overtime win over the Fever was part of the Mystics\u2019 rebuilding process, so was Monday\u2019s loss. The Big Three will continue to anchor the team, but they won\u2019t be as incandescent in all 44 games as they were in the first three. And with youth \u2014 especially the amount of youth the Mystics have \u2014 there tends to be inconsistency.<\/p>\n That\u2019s partly because there is a lot to learn for young players in the WNBA. The Mystics\u2019 nine rookies are facing every opponent for the first time, and the Mystics overall are battling teams that are up to 5 1\/2 years older<\/a> than them on average. That\u2019s a huge gap in knowledge and experience.<\/p>\n After Monday\u2019s game, Betts described what that learning curve has been like for her: \u201cEvery single game is just very, very competitive. \u2026 Everyone\u2019s a lot more physical, and it\u2019s a lot faster than college. So I think [I\u2019m] just trying to get with the style of play and just trusting myself and still playing my game, while also just trying to learn my teammates and gain chemistry with them.\u201d<\/p>\n At this stage of the rebuild, the Mystics are focused on player development, not on wins and losses, just like last season. That starts from the top of the organization<\/a> with owner Ted Leonsis and Monumental Basketball president Michael Winger. Johnson has known that since he was hired, and he has always embraced it. He said after the Indiana game that he and his staff are doing some type of player development every single day, whether it\u2019s on-court work, film study or even just one-on-one conversations.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen they offered me this job, I came running,\u201d Johnson said on May 2. \u201cAnd [I] understood that even last year, we would be a little bit younger, [though we] would have some vets. This year, we\u2019ve tripled down on that \u2026 and put a coaching staff together that really wanted to pour into teaching.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd so we\u2019re built for this is what I\u2019m trying to say. We\u2019re truly built for this. \u2026 We\u2019re all in on player development, and it\u2019s fun. It really is. And we\u2019ve got a great, receptive group.\u201d<\/p>\n That focus is why Johnson has substituted liberally, sometimes with what look like hockey line changes, and given 11 players at least eight minutes per game<\/a>. He wants everyone to get minutes early in the season to help accelerate their development.<\/p>\n That has been particularly challenging in the frontcourt, where Austin and Iriafen\u2019s elite play has made it tough to sub them out. But Johnson said after Monday\u2019s game that he is \u201cfully committed\u201d to getting Betts and rookie forward Angela Dugali\u0107<\/a> enough minutes to develop their games, too. Through four games, Betts is averaging 14.8 minutes<\/a>, the most of any player who hasn\u2019t started a game, and Dugali\u0107 is averaging 10.5.<\/p>\n Johnson has been impressed so far with how quickly his team is learning. Before the Dallas game, he noted how the players have been able to adjust during games to how opponents are scoring on them. They didn\u2019t do that as well against the Wings, but they\u2019ll use that film to teach them how to defend similar offenses better going forward. Johnson also mentioned players like rookie guard Cotie McMahon<\/a>, who has been asked to play differently than she did in college and is adjusting well.<\/p>\n \u201cBecoming Caitlin Clark\u201d<\/strong> is out now!<\/strong><\/p>\n Howard Megdal\u2019s newest book is here! \u201cBecoming Caitlin Clark: The Unknown Origin Story of a Modern Basketball Superstar\u201d captures both the historic nature of Clark\u2019s rise and the critical context over the previous century that helped make it possible, including interviews with Clark, Lisa Bluder (who also wrote the foreword), C. Vivian Stringer, Jan Jensen, Molly Kazmer and many others.<\/p>\n The early-season schedule has also benefited the Mystics. They had four days between their second and third games of the season, which is a relatively long layoff by WNBA standards, and now have nearly a week between the Dallas loss and their next game on Sunday against the Seattle Storm.<\/p>\n They\u2019ve used that time to practice, and it\u2019s been almost like an extension of training camp. That time is critical because they\u2019d had to start from a different baseline than more experienced teams when camp opened. Johnson said after the Liberty game on May 10 that he and his staff had spent time explaining terminology like a rip screen<\/a> or \u201c77,\u201d which refers to a double drag screen<\/a>. They find that rewarding, not frustrating, because the ultimate goal this season is development.<\/p>\n So nothing about the Mystics\u2019 approach will change because of Monday\u2019s loss, even though before that, many people had viewed them as an early-season feel-good story. Every game, Johnson wants the Mystics to display the same identity that they started to create last season, and if they do, that\u2019s a victory for him.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m trying to hold them to being tough and together, regardless as to what comes and regardless as to the outcome,\u201d he said before Monday\u2019s game. \u201cAnd we can hang our hat on that.\u201d<\/p>\n Against the Wings, Johnson saw that identity in flashes, particularly defensively, but it didn\u2019t show up for all 40 minutes. Consistently putting 40 minutes together is one of the toughest parts of building a championship contender, and it\u2019ll be something the Mystics work toward all season.<\/p>\n \u201cIn terms of that toughness [and] togetherness, we probably got tested a bit and probably wanted to get a few minutes back,\u201d Johnson said postgame. \u201cAnd we will. We will. I mean, our habits are our habits. That\u2019s not going away.\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 IX Basketball. The IX Basketball\u2019s editorial operations are entirely independent of Monumental and all other business partners.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Though the rebuilding Washington Mystics started the 2026 season a surprising 2-1, head coach Sydney Johnson expressed caution…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":810615,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[49],"tags":[244500,2470,34429,23245,329450,71568,87938,12795,34428,62,71570,329451,67,132,68,1514,232,329452,187222,329453],"class_list":["post-810614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-angela-dugalic","tag-dallas-wings","tag-kiki-iriafen","tag-lauren-betts","tag-paint-points","tag-player-development","tag-rebuild","tag-shakira-austin","tag-sonia-citron","tag-sports","tag-sydney-johnson","tag-turnovers","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us","tag-washington-mystics","tag-wnba","tag-wnba-rookies","tag-wnba-schedule","tag-young-players"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116608763778484102","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/810614","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=810614"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/810614\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/810615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=810614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=810614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=810614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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We are excited to announce the launch of TWO new podcasts for all the women\u2019s sports fans out there looking for a daily dose of women\u2019s sports news and analysis. Stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or anywhere you listen to podcasts, and make sure to subscribe!<\/p>\n![\"Washington](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Lauren-Betts-Awak-Kuier-1024x683.jpg\")
Washington Mystics center Lauren Betts (51) holds the ball and looks for options during a game at College Park Center on in Arlington, Texas, on May 18, 2026. (Photo credit: Melissa Triebwasser | The IX Basketball)<\/p>\n![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/www.theixsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Untitled-design-13.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Washington](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2026-05-10T224057Z_2031278693_MT1USATODAY28925426_RTRMADP_3_WNBA-NEW-YORK-LIBERTY-AT-WASHINGTON-MYST.jpeg\")
Washington Mystics head coach Sydney Johnson (right) talks with guard Georgia Amoore (8) during a stoppage in a game against the New York Liberty at CareFirst Arena in Washington, D.C., on May 10, 2026. (Photo credit: Geoff Burke | Imagn Images)<\/p>\n