Following a 94-84 victory on Tuesday, the Washington Mystics returned to the Mortgage Matchup Center for another tilt with the Phoenix Mercury.
Behind a career-high 25 points and six 3-pointers from Georgia Amoore, Washington earned an 80-73 road win.
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The Mercury jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead before Shakira Austin got Washington on the board with two free throws. Phoenix’s advantage reached 13 points before Amoore drilled a pair of triples to settle her squad down.
After trailing 15-2, the Mystics answered with an 18-3 run to take a 20-18 advantage into the second quarter.
Kahleah Copper scored 20 of the Mercury’s first 25 points as they kept pace with the young Mystics.
Behind a trio of Kiki Iriafen buckets and a pair of Betnijah Laney-Hamilton assists, Washington embarked on a 10-0 run to open a 38-27 lead. But Phoenix held firm, trimming its deficit to just three entering halftime.
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Copper’s dominance persisted in the second half as she reached 32 points on 13-for-18 FG to give her squad a 57-53 lead entering the final quarter.
Shay Ciezki drilled a 3-pointer and a five-foot jumper to push Phoenix ahead by nine to open the fourth. Washington was again on the ropes.
But spectators would soon find out that those moments are made for Amoore.
The second-year guard settled things down with an and-1 layup to trim the deficit to seven before she plucked the ball loose from her defensive assignment and tossed a dime to Austin for an easy layup. After a Sonia Citron steal, Amoore sunk her fourth triple of the contest to make it a two-point game.
And she wasn’t done there. Amoore slithered into the lane for an easy layup to put Washington ahead 67-65. After another Copper miss, Iriafen ran the floor and added three more to make it 70-65 with four minutes remaining.
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In just three minutes, the Mystics had turned a 10-point deficit into a five-point advantage to quiet a once-lively Mortgage Matchup Center.
Phoenix scored twice in a minute as it eyed a late comeback. But Amoore had every answer.
The 5-foot-6 guard dribbled through the defense for a layup. Then she sank a cold-blooded corner three to put Washington ahead by four. Then she added another, this one a wing triple off a Citron feed that brought the Mystics’ bench to their feet and grew the lead to 78-73.
Laney-Hamilton iced the game at the line as Washington secured a hard-fought road win.
Amoore finished with 25 points and six 3-pointers made — both career-highs — plus four assists, three rebounds and two steals.
