The Washington Mystics moved to 3-0 after a dominant second half against the Las Vegas Aces. The emphasis is on the second half because after an ugly first two quarters, the Mystics made the adjustments needed to solidify the 89-76 victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe couldn\u2019t have looked much worse than we did in the first quarter and part of the second quarter,\u201d Mystics Coach Mike Thibault said. \u201cMy question at halftime was are we going to stop just one thing that they do. We didn\u2019t stop anything in the first half. We came out and got a good start. We got execution three or four plays in a row and we got stops. Then all of the sudden you could feel the momentum shift.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That momentum shift included the Mystics coming back from a 15-point first half deficit to outscore the Aces 53-27 after halftime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When asked what changed the trajectory of the game, Ariel Atkins kept is simple: \u201cWe just did what the coaches asked us to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, the Mystics were without Natasha Cloud who was ruled out due to health and safety protocols and Alysha Clark is still managing a foot injury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This left the point guard position in the hands of rookies Rui Machada (9 points) and Katie Benzan who both stepped up to the challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know Natasha couldn\u2019t play until this morning but I feel I just got to do it,\u201d Machada said. \u201cI was a little nervous in the first half but in the second half, we felt like we had to change our mind and just keep going. We were able to execute so we did.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n