COLLEGE PARK, Ga. — Brittney Sykes scored 18 points in her first game since May 17, Ariel Atkins also had 18 and the Washington Mystics won their first game of the season, beating the Atlanta Dream 87-68 on Tuesday night.
Washington (1-12) avoided tying the longest losing streak in franchise history with the 2012 team dropping 13 games in a row. The Mystics’ 19-point win is the third largest to snap a double-digit losing streak in WNBA history.
“The feel is it’s been coming,” coach Eric Thibault said. “I said the other night that we’re turning into a good basketball team and we just haven’t had the wins to show for it yet. We’ve been playing better basketball now for a while.
“We’re obviously shooting well, but I think the quality of the shots we’re getting is really good.”
Sykes, who had missed the past 10 games due to an ankle injury, went 4-of-6 from 3-point range in just 14 minutes, and Atkins made all three of her attempts from distance. The Mystics made a season-high 17 3-pointers, with a make from eight players. Their 17 made 3s were their second most in a game in franchise history and one shy of the WNBA single-game record.
Sykes appeared to tweak her left foot — the same with the high ankle sprain — early in the fourth…
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