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Shakira Austin’s 21 points, 11 rebounds, 5 blocks help Mystics win 6th straight, 79-74 over Dream

WASHINGTON (AP) — Shakira Austin had 21 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks, Kiki Iriafen added 15 points, and the Washington Mystics beat the Atlanta Dream 79-74 on Friday night for their sixth straight victory.

Washington had a 64-48 lead early in the fourth quarter before Atlanta closed within 77-74 with 32.3 seconds to go. But, Austin got a friendly roll on a contested shot in the lane to seal it.

Washington (18-12) current win streak matches the franchise-record six-game run by the 2019 championship team.

Sonia Citron had 14 points, rookie Cotie McMahon added 11 and Cassandre Prosper scored 10 off the bench for Washington. Rookie Lauren Betts had a career-high 11 rebounds. The Mystics set a franchise record for blocks in any half with nine in the first and had a franchise-record 12 overall.

Allisha Gray scored 26 points to reach 20-plus points for the 15th time this season for Atlanta (19-12). The Dream have lost back-to-back games following a five-game win streak. Rhyne Howard added 19 points despite playing with five fouls throughout the fourth quarter.

Angel Reese grabbed 16 rebounds and scored seven points on 1-for-12 shooting. The Dream shot a season-worst 32.5% (25 of 77).

Washington Wizards teammates Bilal Coulibaly and Kyshawn George sat courtside.

Up next

Dream: Play at Toronto on Monday.

Mystics: Host Phoenix on Sunday.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

Mystics’ Kiki Iriafen, Sonia Citron selected to USA for FIBA Women’s World Cup

A'ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum will miss the FIBA Women's World Cup for health reasons and will be replaced by Washington teammates Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron, USA Basketball announced Monday. Wilson, the four-time WNBA MVP, has shouldered quite a workload in the first part of the season for the Las Vegas Aces and needed a break to rest and get ready for the playoffs. She was voted the most outstanding player of the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2022 World Cup. She will be sorely missed by the United States. Plum has been dealing with a calf injury for most of the WNBA season and it still hasn't 100% healed. She was a catalyst in the Paris Games gold-medal contest against France and sparked the Americans to the one-point victory. Iriafen and Citron were both part of U.S. camps this past winter. Iriafen played on the American team that went to Puerto Rico and won the World Cup qualifier. Citron had to miss that tournament because of an injury, so she'll be making her national team debut in Germany.
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