Will The Mystics Recharge?

The Washington Mystics organization announced on Monday, August 17, 2020 – that they have signed Alecia “Sug” Sutton, from the University of Texas. Sug was originally selected by the Mystics in the 2020 WNBA draft, as the 36^th overall pick.  She was initially waived on May 25^th due to the WNBA roster reductions to 10 players, because of the coronavirus pandemic.   

The Mystics started off the season on a 3-0 run, but have dropped to No. 10 in the league, after losing the last seven games.  Almost halfway through the season, the Mystics have had challenges filling their roster.  Essence Carson who appeared in 10 games this season was recently waived.

The team structure of the reigning Champs has drastically changed.  Natasha Cloud, LaToya Sanders and Tina Charles opted-out of the 2020 WNBA season, before it started.  The 2019 WNBA League MVP, Elena Delle Donne, is still out with a back injury from last season. 

Despite the team being without some of their key players -small forward, Myisha Hines-Allen, has grown tremendously as she has tripled her stats from last year.  Hines-Allen has started every game this 2020 season and has stepped into the power forward role.  She is the second active-leading scorer for the Mystics, with 14.2 points per game. 

The 2019 WNBA Finals MVP, Emma Meesseman, recently reached 1,000 career rebounds. So far this season, Meesseman has shown spurts of aggressive energy, but is struggling with being the number one option for the Mystics.

Meesseman and her teammates have all been vocal about what they need to do (see below) to turnaround the remainder of the season:

1. Follow the scouting report
2. Make their open shots
3. Turn their defense into offence

With the return of Tianna Hawkins from a back injury and recent additions of Stella Johnson and Sug Sutton; Head Coach and General Manager, Mike Thibault, is focused on players staying healthy and rebuilding the squad in front of him.  The Mystics DO have the pieces to recharge and be a competitor in this league again.