The Washington Mystics secured a new franchise record for wins in a season Tuesday night, defeating the Connecticut Sun 79-69 behind a 25-point, 13-rebound performance from Shakira Austin.
Washington moved to 27-16, surpassing the previous franchise record of 26 wins set by the 2019 team that went on to win the Mystics' only WNBA championship, according to reporting from The Associated Press. The win was also Washington's eighth in its past 10 games.
The Mystics strengthened their hold on sixth place and moved one game ahead of Dallas and New York with two days remaining in the regular season.
Austin recorded her 20th double-double of the season while making a career-high 11 free throws. Her 13 rebounds increased her single-season franchise record to 397.
Austin and Kiki Iriafen also made league history, becoming the first pair of teammates in WNBA history to each record at least 20 double-doubles in the same season. Iriafen has 22.
Washington took a 23-16 lead after the first quarter before Connecticut erased the deficit in the second. Diamond Miller scored 11 points in the period and tied the game at 27 with a 3-pointer, but Cotie McMahon's 3-pointer with 49 seconds remaining sent Washington into halftime with a 44-42 advantage.
The Mystics pulled away with a 15-4 run in the third quarter. McMahon connected from 3-point range about 90 seconds after Washington pushed its lead into double digits, making it 66-53.
Article Continues BelowConnecticut cut the deficit to five in the fourth quarter before Georgia Amoore hit a 3-pointer with 7:31 remaining to stop the Sun's momentum.
McMahon finished with 13 points off the bench, while Sonia Citron added 12. Miller led Connecticut with 19 points, and Leila Lacan and Raegan Beers scored 11 apiece.
The Sun outrebounded Washington 43-34, ending the Mystics' opportunity to add to their WNBA-record 39 games outrebounding opponents this season.
Washington closes its regular season at home against Chicago on Thursday. Connecticut hosts Toronto in its finale the same night.
Information from Field Level Media contributed to this article.

