WASHINGTON (AP) — Sonia Citron scored 17 points and made the winning jumper as time expired, rookie Lauren Betts scored a season-high 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting and the Washington Mystics beat the Toronto Tempo 86-85 on Friday night.
Betts, the No. 4 overall pick in the draft, played a career-high 21 minutes in the absence of second-year forward Kiki Iriafen (ankle).
Michaela Onyenwere also scored 17 points for the Mystics (5-6).
Shakira Austin had 12 points and 11 rebounds for her fifth double-double this season. The fifth-year center also had a career-high nine turnovers, the most in a WNBA game this season. Washington had a season-high 22 turnovers and were 2 of 18 from 3-point range.
Marina Mabrey scored 18 of her 27 points in the fourth quarter for the Tempo (7-6). Brittney Sykes added 20 points.
Mabrey, who shot 5 of 10 from behind the arc, has 473 career 3-pointers and moved past Shekinna Stricklen (468) for 23rd place in WNBA history.
The expansion Tempo had a season-high 18 steals, the most in WNBA since 2025 (Seattle, 20).
Betts scored inside with 3:21 to play to give the Mystics a 14-point lead. Mabrey made three free throws and assisted on a layup before she hit two 3s in a 25-second span to make it a two-possession game with 1:51 left.
Mabrey then converted a four-point play and hit a pull-up 3-pointer to take an 84-83 with 31.6 left, but Sykes answered 20 seconds later with a driving layup — her only points in the second half.
Betts had deep position under the basket, but got tied up with 2.1 seconds left before she tipped the ensuing jump ball to Citron for the winning fadeaway jumper.
Nyara Sabally, averaging a career-high 12.4 points on 56% shooting for Toronto this season, didn't play due to a hamstring injury.
Tempo: Host Atlanta on Sunday.
Mystics: Start a four-game road trip Sunday at New York.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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