Sykes scores 26, Mystics top Storm 93-86 but Jewell Loyd ties WNBA record with 9 3-pointers

WASHINGTON (AP) — Brittney Sykes scored 26 points and the short-handed Washington Mystics beat the Seattle Storm 93-86 Tuesday night despite a record-tying nine 3-pointers from Jewell Loyd.

The Mystics, who won two games in Seattle by seven and six points, led by 25 late in the third quarter and 84-67 near the midpoint of the fourth.

Loyd, who left the Storm’s last game with an ankle injury on Saturday, hit four of her 3-pointers after that. The Storm got it down to a two possession game with less than three minutes to go, but Sykes made back-to-back baskets, converting the second into a three-point play, and the Mystics closed it out.

Washington let the shot clock run out on its final possession but Loyd’s attempt at breaking the WNBA 3-point record for a game bounced off the rim as time expired. Kelsey Mitchell hit nine 3s for Indiana in 2019. Loyd finished with 39 points.

Shatori Walker-Kimbrough had 16 points off the bench for the Mystics (11-8), helping make up for the absence of all-star Elena Delle Donne and two other injured starters. Although Natasha Cloud returned after missing a couple games with an ankle sprain, Ariel Atkins, coming off her first career double-double, left with a sprained ankle in the second quarter. Tianna Hawkins scored 13.

Loyd was 9 of 16 behind the arc to hit 30 points for the sixth time this season. Loyd has two games with eight 3-pointers, including one earlier this season.

Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu had 12 points and 11 rebounds and Erzi Magbegor 12 and 9 for Seattle (4-15), which has lost six straight and 8 of 9. Rookie Jordan Horston left with a should injury in the second quarter.

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