The Washington Mystics Don’t Act Their Age

The bulletin board material the Dallas Wings supplied to Cotie McMahon looked more like posterboard material. On Wednesday night, after the Washington Mystics’ 96-92 comeback win over Dallas, the rookie Mystics guard posted a photo of a scouting report the Wings had evidently left behind in their locker room. Like many scouting reports—who can forget Joe Mazzulla’s Quizlet account?—this one featured some good bits of found poetry. Angela Dugalić? “In to space floor/Attack her if she guards you.” Shakira Austin: “Battle her in every way for every minute.” But it did not feature Cotie McMahon.

That might explain the 18 points McMahon put up on Wednesday night, 10 of which came in a tense fourth quarter. The Wings led the Mystics by as much as 20 points late in the third, but McMahon got the game back in control by muscling her way downhill and finishing through contact. Austin, the center who finished with 27 points and 13 rebounds, also didn’t seem like she minded being battled in every way for every minute. Wednesday’s was the Mystics’ fifth straight win, a streak of success the franchise hasn’t achieved since their championship season in 2019.